Of Soul and Steel
by Undeadkilla
Summary: [Mass Effect] [Self Insert] "I didn't want to be here, but the place I did want no longer existed. This will be my new purpose, my new reason to live. And I can't fail again" My attempt at fanfiction, should be updated again by 4/11/14 read and enjoy. (Guise, my power's out. Updating by phone. Expect delays :c sorry.)
1. Darker Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. At all.**

_A/N: What is up guys, I'm going to be writing the first few chapters of this story, and if there is any interest (at all), I shall continue it. Keep in mind that this is my first story, so the usual problems of new writers will most likely apply. I'll correct any errors if they are pointed out to me. With that, enjoy._

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_Detroit, Michigan._

_January 21st, 2013. 7:05 A.M._

The day starts as it usually does for me, an unreasonable migraine and the sounds of early morning traffic on the streets below my apartment. Well, I say my apartment because I clean it and live in it more than my mother, but her name's on the lease. A description and backstory would be nice right about now I guess.

* * *

My name is Cory Weston. An auspicious name I know, but I didn't have much choice in the matter at the time. I stand 5' 11", and weigh about 160 pounds. Black hair, blue eyes that look gray from afar. I'm fifteen years old, but hit my growth spurt pretty early on, and look older for it. My outfits usually consist of plain, clean clothing with muted colors.

My life has always seemed like a bad joke. Between my twisted, man-chasing mother, and the men she managed to latch onto, I never had much of a reference when it came to being a good human being. Despite that, I've always tried to do what was right. It hasn't been easy, but I've more or less raised myself. No other family that I know of, beyond estranged aunts and uncles in other states. So, growing up it's just been the three of us: me, my mother, and her bullshit, which takes on a life of it's own.

Looking at other families has always made me jealous. I wonder what it's like to be apart of a normal, functional family, not having to wonder if you're going to be evicted because your parent can't be depended on to keep their job. I know that she has her side of the story, but I can't help but resent her for it. As for my father, I have no idea. No matter how much I ask, I've never gotten a straight answer as to his identity, or his whereabouts. Then again, my mother knows if I knew who he was, I'd probably run off to live with him. The only reason I haven't left already is because my mother lets me do pretty much as I please, though it's more neglect on her part than being nice to me.

Back to the story at hand.

I slowly get up from my bed, rolling my neck to ease the muscles back into action as I take a look at my room. Nothing special, a desk with some schoolwork and textbooks on it, posters of various video games and bands lining the walls. I had a decent gaming setup at one point, Playstation 3 and a 32-inch T.V., but that was long gone to some small pawn shop in New Center. I was told I'd get it back once my mother got some money together, but that was over a month ago, so there was no getting it back. I think the most pain-in-the-ass part was I had finally gotten the Mass Effect trilogy after scraping some money together helping some neighbors in an adjacent apartment move out. I had gotten onto Mass Effect 3, Watching as a giant, malevolent squid was swallowed up by the Tuchanka sands, before powering down for the night. The next day, my system, games, and T.V. were "appropriated" to help pay our power bill. Utter blasphemy in my eyes, but my protests went ignored, and have continued to be over the last month in terms of getting a new system. Merry f'ing Christmas.

I stand up and make my way to the bathroom for my usual routine, showering and the like. Stopping at my mother's door, I hear the tell-tale snoring of her latest man-friend, Bill. I completely detest the man; while usually amicable sober, he can get nasty in the blink of an eye drunk. The bruises I've seen on my mother's arms from where he's grabbed her attest to that. But a man standing at 6' 2", 250 pounds of mostly muscle is a bit much for me to deal with. I dress and continue to the kitchen after, grabbing a cereal bar and putting my hoodie on before heading out the door, not willing to deal with the two people in my life who destroy any sense of cheer I have without even trying. Not that there has been much of that for me in the past month.

On December 19th, my lanky best friend and one of two people in the world with which I'd trust with anything, Alex Wolfwood (yes, Wolfwood, you read right) disappeared. He was declared a runaway, coming from an even more broken home than my own, but I knew that he wouldn't have taken off without saying something to me. Thus, I did looking of my own, and found out that none of his other friends knew where he went either, which further cemented my feeling he didn't leave of his own volition. But without anything to go on, there wasn't anything I could do. This had me walking in the morning cold towards the house of the only other person I trust, Ana Richards.

We've been going out for about eight months, getting into the trouble that teenagers do, but I know in my heart that I love her. We grew close by growing up in similar circumstances. But where my mother simply doesn't really care about me, her single father strikes out at her at the slightest provocation. We've learned to rely on each other for emotional support, but she, understandably, deals with major depression. Lately, however, she's been cheerful, though she hasn't told me why. I've taken it as a good sign regardless.

I reach her house fifteen minutes later, a small, one-story place with faded paint, and walk around back, knowing that her dad would not be home for a few hours due to his habit of getting drunk and crashing at his girlfriends house. Opening the back door that hasn't locked properly since they got the place, I walk into the house to find it eerily quiet. _'Ana gets up before I do, where is she?_' I think to myself as I move towards her room. A note on the door stops me, and as I read it, my world comes crashing down around me.

* * *

_Cory, knowing you, you're standing here wondering what's going on. I can't do this anymore. I've made my decision, and this is what I want. You didn't do anything to cause this; in fact you delayed this from happening. I'm so, so sorry it has to be like this but know that I love you with everything I have. Please, don't come in. You shouldn't have to see. Goodbye._

* * *

I stand there, reading the note but not comprehending it. My hands shaking as I hold it, I look at it again. "There is no way" I mutter to myself, turning the handle and finding the door locked. "Ana? Come on, open the door. Ana, this isn't funny!" At this point I'm pounding on the door, heart hammering and breath shaky as I refuse to acknowledge what the circumstances imply. After a few moments, panic wins out, and I start putting my foot to the door, near the handle. After a few strong kicks, the flimsy door swings in, revealing the sight that turns my panic and dread into shock, and stops all of my thoughts in their tracks.  
She's lying there motionless, face towards me, eyes glassy, skin pale. Underneath her, the bedsheets are stained red with blood. In a heartbeat I'm at her side, looking at her wrist, the epicenter of the stain. 'Oh god, she's been like this for hours.' My hands fly to her neck, feeling for a pulse and finding nothing. I'm losing it, tears already flowing freely down my face, ear to her chest listening for a heartbeat I already know won't be there. "Oh Ana, please no. Nononono..." I cradle her, rocking back and forth, all rational thought gone. As I move, I notice a metallic glint in her enclosed hand. I reach out, and after a moment pull loose dogtags, the tags I'd had made for her , one listing my information, the other her own. I'd had them made for her, telling her we'd always be together. Cheesy, but she smiled. Now stained with blood, I stare at them, feeling the raw emotion of grief overtake me.

* * *

The next twelve hours are a blur of walking, crying, and losing all sense of purpose. The one thing still keeping me going is gone, leaving me with an empty place in my heart. At some point, I end up home again, staring blankly at the front door. I'm numb and cold, face expressionless. I can hear them, my mother and Bill, arguing about something. I open it, drawing their attention to me. Immediately, I hear my mother's voice. "Where have you been?" she asks, no real emotion in her voice. I don't answer her, simply moving towards my room, but I'm stopped by Bill.

"Hey you little shit, where have you been?" I can smell the cheap liquor on his breath, and I know this won't go well. "I asked you a question!" he says, his voice rising.

"The hell do you care." I reply, toneless.

"I want to know!" he's right in my face now, staring at my vacant eyes. He takes in my disheveled appearance, and surprisingly, chuckles. "Been getting into trouble?" He asks, and I look down.

My hoodie is slightly smeared with blood. Only noticing now, I can feel myself becoming emotional again. Looking up, I see Bill moving back towards my mother, and almost immediately their argument picks back up. I stand there, unable to move, as they go at each other. I don't really pay attention to it until I see him smack my mother, and i watch as she slams into the kitchen table. He hits her again, and goes for a third time but at that point I'm on him, pent-up emotion making me rush into him. he stops only long enough to shove me into the counter my hands stopping me from hitting too hard but still slamming my head. My vision goes red, only clearing as I hear my mother screaming "STOP!"

I look down, staring from the knife in my hand to the twitching Bill underneath me. I had driven the knife into his chest, repeatedly. The fury in Bill's eyes was replaced with an unfocused terror, and then nothing. My eyes see all this, and my body goes into autopilot, moving as fast as it can out the door.

* * *

When I regain some semblance of thought, I'm outside, leaning on a railing. As I take in my surroundings, I realize I'm on a bridge. Not just a bridge, but Ambassador Bridge. 'How in the hell did I even get here?' I wonder, looking out over the water. I'm brought from my thoughts by somebody next to me, leaning on the railing as well, taking in the view.

"Not bad" the person says, and from the voice I can tell it's a he, though with a slightly high-pitched voice. "But I've seen better." I look over to him, taking in the hooded outfit, it hiding his face.

"Who are you?" I ask, though in my state of mind I didn't think much of another person on a restricted footpath.

"It isn't relevant at this point. What is important is that I must ask you something." I stare at him, though he continues to look over the water, towards the city.

"Well, what is that you want?"

"There are those who believe you can help us. That you can change things." He turns slightly towards me, and I take an immediate step back. His face, from what I can see, is gray, and most definitely **NOT** human.

"What the hell?" Is my eloquent reply. He seems amused by it.

"Not what you were expecting, I'm sure. Do you think you can help us?"

"With.. With what?" The surreality of the moment, coupled with the day's events, leaves me thinking I've finally lost it.

"There are things set in motion, things that need to be stopped. We need your help." I stare over the water, waiting for him to keep talking. 'If I've lost it, might as well listen.' I think to myself.  
"Look out onto the water" He says, and I do so. "Do you see it?" I do. There is a faint, pulsing glow, as if a strobe light is under the water. "Get to it, and you'll be.. Transported" I look at him, realizing that he may be more insane than I am.

"Are you serious? What, am I supposed to just jump off the damn bridge?" I stare fully at him now, waiting.

"You'll make it." Is his reply.

"You are insane. This whole conversation is insane." I continue to stare at him, fully convinced that I've lost it now. He merely smiles slightly, and looks toward the glow. Taking a moment, I look at it too, and make my decision.

Now he seems slightly surprised as I climb the guardrail and hold on the outside of it now. " If I am insane, then what are you doing?" he asks. I glance back wards, then look back out at the water below.

"Embracing the madness"


	2. Brave New World

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. At all.**

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**A/N: **Here again, second chapter now. let me know what you think.

* * *

Moments before I hit the water, I think to myself 'WELL, that was stupid." The immediate pain I feel attests to it. The pain means I did, in fact, live, barely. The bad news, I realize, is that the impact knocked the air from my lungs, making me instictively breathe in, sucking in the freezing water. Choking, I flail in the water, not knowing which way is up. only then do I realize the glowing light was actually a squarish electronic beacon, and I somehow landed mere inches from it. I reach out for it as my lungs scream for air. Getting a grip on it, I press the button on the side.  
Nothing happens. 'Shit'.  
Truly panicking now as my vision starts to fade, I hold on to one last, rather strange thought:  
'Damn gray alien.. Guy'

* * *

_Location unknown_  
_ Date/Time unknown_  
The first thing that alerts me to the fact that I'm alive is a massive migraine, which isn't out of the ordinary for me and lets me believe for a fleeting moment that the Previous day was all a sick nightmare. Opening my eyes, however, proves me wrong immediately. It's Detroit, but different. More... Clean, futuristic. Looking around more from my lovely vantage point on a public bench alerted me to more differences. Like the flying car, or the hooded Salarian standing nearby looking at me, or the fact that it's early afternoon by the look of the sun, or... Wait, what.

"Ajsdnyhfru!" Is the incomprehensible gibberish that comes from my mouth as I take notice of the **Salarian **now standing in front of me. "You're.. A..." He nods. "Which means I'm..." He nods again. "What the hell" I mutter, unable to stop staring.

"I was the same way when my employers approached me and told me that there were universes other than my own, places where my galaxy was a video game."

"So this is.. Real?" I ask, the magnitude of it dawning on me.

"In this universe, the events of the game you are thinking about are real things, that will happen." Now that I can fully see his face, I can see the pleased expression that I'm not totally freaking out, though confusion at that is laced in too. I answer the unspoken question.

"Well, I can't exactly complain at the change of scenery." My face grows dark as I consider the previous day. "So, why me? Why now? You could have asked me before everything happened." He looks at me, considering.

"Would you have gone?" he asks, and I cannot respond. "I was only to keep an eye on you, see if you would be able to help. When... What occurred, occurred, I had to act. I did not know what was going to happen." I look at him, silently permitting him to continue. "Look, a lot has happened in a very short time. Go to your old apartment. The building is modernized, but it's still there. Go there, think things over. I have to speak to my employers." I'm so wrapped up in what has happened I almost miss him starting to walk away.

"Wait!" I yell, and he looks back. "Who are you?" I ask once more.

"Just someone doing what needs to be done." Comes the cryptic reply.

"Great" I mutter, looking back towards the skyline. "Secrecy. Fun." I look towards the road. "Well, time to figure out what the hell is going on." I say as I start walking, trying to orient my self in an completely foreign feeling city.

* * *

Detroit, I soon realized, was indeed the same city. It looked shinier, but underneath it was the same place. I made good time once I found out where I was at, though the trip back home was... Interesting. Looking at the buildings, the the weird clothes people wore, and the freaking aliens. Mass Effect didn't really talk about it, but there were aliens on Earth. In the minority, but there. I must have looked like a total idiot, gawking at them in my 21st century, slightly bloody clothes. As I think about this, I force down the wave of emotions that threaten to overwhelm me. 'Not now,' I think to myself. 'Focus on getting back to the apartment now, break down later.'

Getting back to the building, I make my way up to the third floor. Despite there being six more floors now, it's the same place. Walking to the door, I automatically reach for my key, but instead of a doorknob and deadbolt, there is one of those holographic interfaces. I tentatively reach towards the red circle, jumping back when it flashes and says "**Voice pattern required" **in a synthetic voice.  
"Uhh.."  
It plays back** "Uhh.." "Voice pattern confirmed. Welcome home."**  
I stand there a moment. "Well then," I mutter, and go inside.

The place is sparsely furnished, and shows no signs of anyone living here. A quick look around confirms none of my old things are here, though I didn't expect them to be. The only remnants of my past life are the clothes on my back, and my pocket contents. I go through those, finding a couple of wrinkly dollar bills, my mp3 player, and... The dog tags. I begin to look at those, and what they imply, but before I can start to consider I hear Mr. Mysterious behind me.  
"You're here. Good." I jump at his words, and turn around. Hood down, I can see his face fully. Gray-skinned, and relatively young-looking (hard to judge on another species), he seemed an average Salarian. "I'm sure you have questions."

"Several." Came my reply, looking for him to continue.

"First, let me explain a few things. That way you can voice the other questions you'll no doubt have. You are here, Detroit, Michigan, Earth. It is January 22nd, 2177. You-"

"Wait a moment," came my interjection. "2177? I'm a bit early, aren't I?"

"Actually, I'm going to explain that. For now, just listen, and I'll give you what you need to know." I quiet down, waiting for him to continue. "As I was saying, your role here remains to be seen. You have the ability to live however you want. You have been given a new lease on life. You know what would've happened had you stayed in your universe." I cringe slightly, think about it. I would've probably been arrested.. Or have committed suicide before that.

" The reason we brought you here, though, is because we need help." He seems to consider something, before pressing on."What my employers don't want to share, is that we've already affected the timeline, only for the worse. We tried to alter the outcome, only it backfired, and the Reapers won." My eyes widen at this, and he takes note of it."We wanted to make things better," he sighed. "Instead we almost lost everything. We want you to help correct the outcome."

"How am I supposed to do that?" The question is out before I can stop it.

"That, is entirely up to you. You can do great things, or nothing. But if you do not intervene, the Reapers will destroy all advanced life due to the altered timeline."

"No pressure."

He smiles."Indeed. But, we feel you are capable of changing things for the better. as of now, you do still have a decision in the matter. If you want to change things, take this." He picks up a datapad from the table, (which I managed not to notice until this point) and hands it to me. It lists a departure time and a location.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I ask, confused to no end.

"It is a shuttle flight to Tokyo, set to leave tomorrow at noon. If you are to change things, there is where you will start."

"And what will I do?"

"You remember Kasumi Goto?

"Yeah, master thief and so on."

"In 2177, she is merely thief, and she will be caught tomorrow. You will prevent her from receiving a viscous beating, among other things. The details are on the datapad, as well as the location of some basic things, Omni-tool and such, which you will need. The rest, is up to you. Questions?"

"Many."

"Most of what you'll want to know is on the datapad. As for the timing, you're not exactly fit to save the galaxy yet. The extra time will be for preparation, should you choose to do so. As for the rest, You will learn as you go. If you want to help, go to the departure gate tomorrow. Good day." He walks out, not actually answering what I wanted to know.

"Ass," I mutter, looking at the datapad. Instead of scrolling through it though, I pull the tags back out of my pocket, wrapping the chain around my fist and stretching out on the only piece of furniture in the main room, a couch. I had a lot to think about.


	3. Getting To Work

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. At all.**

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**A/N:** Hello to the fifteen people who've looked at the story so far! As for anyone new, welcome! Glad you stopped by. I'm not very good at this stuff so tell me just how bad it is. Let me know what you think. **Edit:** Fixed muck up at the end of ch.2., Kudos to a reviewer who pointed out my mess-up on the timeline.

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_Detroit, Michigan_  
_January 23rd, 2177. 10:00 A.M._

I spent most of the night considering the previous day's events. The non-'save the galaxy' events were haunting me. The only thing I could do was distract myself with the information Mr. Cryptic left behind. I was to go to Detroit metro, and open one of the lockers there. Inside would be the gear I'd need: Omni-tool, credits, and a ticket to Tokyo. That part was also bugging me. How would I help Kasumi? I'm not exactly a soldier. Maybe I could distract the group that was going to hassle her? And all this extra information. Shuttle controls, The layout of the market she was supposed to be in. It seems like they want me to be prepared, at least.

It still left me with a nagging question: did I want to do this? They could easily find someone who could do it better. Some SpecOps soldier or something. It doesn't make any sense to me. My inner monologue is interrupted by the chime of the microwave. The place doesn't have much, but it has ramen. Me and ramen, we go way back.

* * *

After eating, getting cleaned up, and redressed (I'm not going to question the futuristic version of my outfit I had found that morning) I set off. I didn't really have anything else I could do, so it made sense to do what I was needed for, at least for now. Arriving at the airport, I notice that it isn't equipped for large spaceships. It makes sense, as I consider it; only certain places would be legitimate spaceports on a heavily-populated planet, the other airports would merely direct planetary shuttles. Making my way through the typical crowds you'd expect from an airport, I reach the locker area. I listed the required information to the security guard, and made my way in. Upon finding the locker and entering the punch code from the datapad, I found an Omni-tool, 2000 credits, a card that looked like a chit but was a ticket for the shuttle I would soon be boarding, as well as a second datapad. This one simply read: "_Good to see you decided to help. When you've arrived in Tokyo, go to the luggage area. You will find some things that would've raised flags with security had you carried them aboard. Good luck."_

This raises flags with me, but any extra help is a good thing, I'm sure. Moving towards departures, I search for the 12:00P.M. to Tokyo, which was surprisingly easy to locate. I guess they've learned something about flight coordination in 160 years. That was another thing I was forced to think about. Everybody I've ever known is long gone. the thought of it stuck with me as I fiddled with the Omni-tool, determined to understand the device and get it working during the flight.  
The actual trip there was surprisingly short, a mere 45 minutes. Of course, air traffic was so congested over Japan that it took another 30 minutes to get groundside. So much for coordination. In that time, I got my Omni-tool up and running. After putting it on (this one basically clips on your wrist and forearm with some wires) I found out that it was a military model, Nexus IV, and had Overload and hacking abilities already installed. The actual interface could be activated by a button on the center chip, but could be programmed to be motion-activated. I don't want to stab myself in the leg or something, so I'll leave that part be.

Once I got groundside, I made my way to luggage as instructed. After bringing up the directory, and letting it scan my Omni-tool, the case popped out a nearby dispenser. Efficient. Once outside (and away from anyone who would look inside it) I opened the case. Inside was a shield generator, an earwig, and a weird backpack. No weapons to speak of, but it's probably better not to shoot my foot off yet. Underneath, I found a third datapad, and read: "the earwig is actually a temporary translator until I can have one implanted, fun. And the backpack Is part storage, part.. Parachute?" I read the last segment again. "_In case of emergency, the pack also contains a high-strength parachute." _'Ohh, this is going to end badly.'

* * *

After getting the pack on and generator up and running (you never know), I set off. My only lead was that Kasumi would be in the markets near the port. Walking there gave me time to admire the architecture, showing that humanity was sometimes capable of great things.

"Stop! Thief!"

'Sigh'. Then again... I made my way towards the yelling, moving in between stalls of touristy junk, only to be bowled over by a diminutive Asian girl. "Ow, dammit.." I mutter, rubbing my head as she immediately stood and continued to run. Only then it clicked: Asian girl, yelling. I could see two stereotypical oversized goons headed this way. 'Okay, think fast, use the area: narrow walkway between stalls, stalls flimsy..' All of the sudden they're running past me. I facepalm at my idiocy, and chase after them.

Turns out oversized goons are alot easier to track than small Asian girls, as they lost track of her while I kept an eye on them. I was starting to think that I wouldn't even need to help Kasumi at all until I heard a deep, triumphant yell, and the sounds of a struggle. I sprinted towards the noise and hid by a wall. The two were holding her by the arms, and seemed to be waiting for something. A few minutes later, that something turned out to be a seedy-looking man in a stained suit, panting heavily and clutching his side. Bossman, by the look of him. The grin on his greasy-looking face sealed it before he even opened his mouth.  
"Good job boys" he said to the pair of brutes, before turning his attention to Kasumi. "Well now, you caused a bit of trouble, didn't you sweetheart? Yes, you did. I think me and the boys are going to have fun paying you back for that."

'Okay, enough of this.' I grab the two most painful-looking items I can find from the nearby stall, a couple of bamboo.. I'm not sure what they are, but they'll hurt. The stallkeep was too engrossed with the show to pay attention to me. I approached the group, yelling at the overgrown thugs. "Hey! Gorillas!" To my amusement, they turned and faced me. 'heh, must get called that a lot.' "Eat this!" I chuck each piece of tourist crap at the duo. The first piece only clipped the guy's shoulder, but caught his attention. The second was far better, hitting thug #2 in the face. Their focus on me, they drop Kasumi, who dashes without a second thought. Mr. Greasy tries to stop her, but a knee to the groin topples even the best of men. I hear him spending his little remaining air yelling at the goons approaching me.

My problem was the two goons approaching me, go figure. The people around the market were too busy recording the confrontation to be of any assistance. I could see it now: Tourist Pulped by Thugs in Tokyo. I had to think fast again. Well, faster this time. Salvation came in the form of my Omni-tool: Overload. I activated it, rather desperately, with beautiful results. Apparently, Overload on unshielded targets will cause a taser effect. It brought the twin towers of testosterone down into twitching heaps on the ground. With Mr. Creepy still down as well, and the sounds of others approaching, it was time to take my leave.  
Moving quickly in the direction of the soon to be infamous thief, I begin to feel something that I haven't in a long time: accomplished. I did something that helped someone. Maybe, I could be of some sort of help after all. I'm brought out of my thoughts by a hand on my arm pulling me out of the street and into an alleyway. Me, ever the eloquent charmer, spoke first.

"Ajsdnyhfru!"

"Didn't mean to spook you, but you're kinda easy to track." the voice, with it's familiar tone, makes me look fully towards the one and only Kasumi Goto. "Why did you help me?" She asks, obviously mistrustful of the slightly sweating person in front of her. "And why did you chase after me?"

"You looked like you needed the help." Taking in her appearance, I realize that she must've been young in the Mass Effect series. 'She doesn't look a day over sixteen.' I offer my hand to her. "Cory Weston." She eyes my hand, but doesn't take it. "Well, those guys won't be down for long, I'm sure. Anywhere we could go?" She looks at me for a long moment, before her lips quirk into a slight smile.

"Yeah, follow me." With that, she's back into the thronging crowds, and with no other choice other than losing track of her, I scramble to keep her in my sights. Little did I know, it wouldn't be the last time I'd be running that day.


	4. Somebody Up There

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. At all**.

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**A/N:** Ugh, I have no faith in my writing abilities. BUT. Here I go regardless. As always, feel free to point out my screwups. If you like the story, let me know that as well. Enjoy. **Edit**: Just to be clear, Cory is a guy. Didn't want any confusion. Also broke up the paragraphs since the doc. manager wont let me tab right.

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_Tokyo, Japan._  
_January 23rd, 2177. 2:15 P.M._

The sounds of the crowds started to dull as Kasumi leads me farther away from the well-worn tourist paths and deeper into the areas only locals would brave. She moves with confidence now, relaxing as delves deeper into her world. I can't help but look around nervously at the people who eye us from chairs and doorways into ramshackle buildings.

"Hey," I look back towards Kasumi. "Move like you belong. If these guys make you for a tourist, they'll eat you alive." I try to follow her advice, but I keep checking behind us for trouble. Eventually, through many narrow alleys and turnabouts that I'd never find my way out of alone, we reach our destination. "Welcome to the safehouse." She says with a flourish.

"Safehouse" might have been a stretch. Little more than a room in an unfinished building, it's only advantage was being well out of the way. With a few mats on the floor, and an slightly sour odor, it was not the most pleasant place I've ever been. Kasumi seems to notice my hesitation, and speaks. "Well, it's not five-star, but I lay low here sometimes if one of my.. Adventures goes awry."

"Adventures, huh?" I smile at her wording.

"Well, I'd like to think of them as such." The smirk on her face says it all.

"Okay then. What now?"

"Now, we wait a couple hours, hoping Mr. Owens gives up his search."

"Owens, huh?"

"Yep, pretty small-time guy. Only reason he even has henchmen is his money." The pieces start to fit into place.  
"Let me guess: he has too much of it for his own good, and you took it upon yourself to help him with that."

"Very astute, Mr. Weston."

"I try. You know, you never did tell me your name." She smiles fully now.

"I didn't, did I?"

"No."

"Well I'm not going to." I look at her, confused. "A thief's identity is a fairly important thing to keep, and I don't know if I trust you yet." Fair enough. Now inside sitting on a mat, I look back towards the door before voicing another question.

"How much did you take?"

"Oh, enough for some food, a change of clothes, and about 35,000 credits extra." I do an immediate double take.

"What?"

"If it's any consolation, he's not a nice guy."

"Then why would you piss him off by taking that much?"

"Relax, he doesn't know who we are, and only people who know this area to heart would be able to find us."

"Quite right, sweetheart." Oh, shit.

Standing in the open doorway is none other than Mr. Owens, flanked by his two thugs, neither of which seem pleased to see me."Your neighbors aren't very concerned about your well-being when it comes to money. Bruno, Pex. get them" They start to approach us, a dangerously happy look on their faces. "Hey guys..." Is the last thing out of my mouth before one of them puts his fist to my jaw. As my vision swims towards unconsciousness, I hear the menacing chuckle of men with nasty plots.

'I have got to stop waking up in pain.' I can feel myself being dragged somewhere, and I slowly open my eyes. One of the large thugs was pulling me along by my left arm while my right was occupied by a smaller guy, though the armor he wore suggested he was for more than looking mean. the folded-up weapon and knife at his hip attest to it. the two were speaking, so I focused on them while feigning continued unconsciousness.

"So what's the plan?" the smaller one said as we started to go down some stairs.

"The boss wants this one taken care of while he deals with the other one."

"Taken care of? Pex, what did he even do?" 'shitshitshit.'

"He got in our business. That's all you need to know."

".. Guess it doesn't matter."

"That's right, it doesn't." we stop moving. "We're here."

I open my eyes fully, looking around. A cellar of some type, with a few crates and no other exits. "We'll be waiting up top. Do it, and get up there."

'Okay, gotta distract him, look for a plan.' my eyes scan the room for something I can use when it clicks: humor. 'Maybe I can get him to lower his guard enough.' By this time, Pex is gone, and my would-be murderer has noticed I'm awake. He sighs slightly before speaking.

"Sorry man, wrong time, wrong place. Nothing personal."

Time to go for broke. "That's what you think. I fucked your wife last light." He flinches slightly, and just as I'm sure I've screwed myself, he smiles.

"Oh, yeah? And how did you know it was my wife?"

"She said her husband was some thug-looking prick with shitty armor."

"Oh you're real cool for a guy about to take a bullet." I can tell he's enjoying the conversation somewhat.

"After fucking your wife, I'll take two." He's officially amused at this point, and it shows.

"Not bad, Not bad. Tell ya what: where do you want it, the chest, or the face?" He gestures with his gun, a Low-value brand Predator from the looks of it.

"That's what I asked your wife."

"Okay man, enough with the wife shit." Oh, no you don't.

"Ask me how fat she is." He looks at me a moment, and I look back at him, eyes daring him to ask. He relents.

"Okay, how fat is she?" He asks, a grin forming on his face.

"She's so fat you gotta roll her in flour and look for the wet spot." He chuckles. "Man, if you wanna fuck her, you gotta slap her thigh and ride the wave in."More chuckling." Now I'm not saying she's fat, but her high school picture WAS a satellite image." now he's fully laughing, and his arm lowers slightly.

Time to strike.

I whip my hand out, forcing his arm to the side as my other wraps around the grip of the knife at his waist. In a heartbeat, it's out of it's sheathe and finding purchase in the side of his neck. I'm as surprised as he is, not realizing what I'd done until it was already in motion. I pull the blade free, still in shock. He drops the pistol, hands at his neck as he starts to weaken already.

"You.. Bastard.." Famous last words.

I look at him, now a lifeless body. "And then some." I mutter, grabbing the pistol and heading for the stairs.

* * *

Amazingly, I still have my things. As for the gun, I'd learn by doing. Keeping it unfolded, I come out of the stairwell to the lobby of a rather luxurious-looking apartment/office building, vacant of any front desk clerks. With a streak of ingenuity, I decide to check the desk terminal. Lo and behold, penthouse number two was owned by a Trevor Owens. I also find an emergency code for his front door. 'Things are finally looking up.' One elevator ride later that, by some miracle, moved faster than two miles an hour, I was Keying in the code to the door on the little holo-screen. It opened without trouble, revealing a posh, spacious apartment with windows on two walls, showing a view of downtown Tokyo at night that would've been mesmerizing in any other situation. As it was, I had a group standing out on a deck to worry about.

Owens is gesturing on and on, waving his arms in an arrogant way while his thugs stand with their backs to the door. the only person facing my direction is Kasumi, hands bound and eyes full of fear. If she sees me, she hides it well. I slowly approach them, my shoes making no noise on the rich carpeting. I'm almost close enough to do something when Owens spins around, and upon looking at me shouts "Bruno!"

Said man and Pex spin around And my hands act before my mind can give the order, bringing the pistol up and squeezing the trigger. At point blank range, the volley of shots tear through both men's jackets, blood oozing from their chests as they hit the ground. I have no more time to reflect on this as Owens pulls his own pistol from inside his suit. I dive behind the marble counter as the resulting shots slam against the other side. By the sound of it, his gun is a lot more powerful than my own. 'I'll only have a moment out of cover before my shields collapse.' Instead of looking over the top, I spin around the side.

Holding Kasumi as a shield, he aims his pistol at me. I line up my own as I feel impacts along my shield. As they collapse, I squeeze the trigger. The resulting slug enters the mans skull in a fraction of a second, his body recoiling and starting to go over the rail.

With Kasumi still in his grip.

"Shit." Time seems to speed up, rather than slow down, as I sprint towards her. I manage to get a grip on her arm, just as they tumble over.

Which only pulls me over with them.

"SHIT!" Is my response to this turn of events. Now free of his grip (NOW he lets go), Kasumi clings to my neck as we start to plummet off of the 80-story highrise. Straight down.

'Somebody up there wants me dead.' I briefly reflect before pulling the ripcord on my backpack.

* * *

Despite my lack of parachuting abilities, we manage to tumble to the ground, in a heap of limbs and chute, alive. Working myself from the tangle, I stand up and take a look around. We've managed to land in a relatively vacant area, a park of some kind. I'm brought from my thoughts by Kasumi, who is struggling to get up with her hands still bound with tape. I pull the bloodied knife from my pocket (where else could I keep it?) and assist her in removing it. As soon as she's free, I'm surprised by a pouncing hug, which I hesitantly return. She releases me and steps back, looking at me for a moment, before she simply says "Kasumi. Kasumi Goto." I nod at this, and turn on my Omni-tool.

"Look," I begin."We can catch an outbound shuttle to Detroit. From there, we can figure out how to get off of Earth." She looks at me questioningly, and I continue."We can't stay here, not with Owens dead." I surprise myself with the words, but they make sense as I say them. "we can't afford to have his bosses finding us. Do you understand?" She hesitantly nods.

"Yes, but where should we go?" I take a moment to consider this, before replying.

"The Citadel."

* * *

_Location unknown_  
"Him, sir?"

"Yes. With what he's done today, coupled with his lack of history, he's.. Different. Make it happen."

"Yes sir."


	5. Welcome To Hell

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. At all.**

* * *

**A/N: **There appears to be a fledgling interest in this story, so I'mma continue it :P. As always, let me know what you think. EDIT: changed 'omnitools' to the proper 'Omni-tools'.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan._  
_January 23rd, 2177. 9:15 P.M._

"You are batshit insane." I turn my head towards Kasumi as we walk to the shuttleport.

"That bad, huh?"

"You killed three people!" I cringe slightly at this, but suppress the feeling of bile in my throat.

"Four, actually. Who were going to kill us." She frowns at this.

"You jumped off a building, and pulled a stuntman by parachuting to safety."

"To save your ass."

"Still makes you a crazy person."

"Well, I wasn't debating that part." Our argument dies down as we reach the port. Even at night, it was fairly busy. "Well," I start. "Here we are. Shall we?" She nods, and we head inside. Incriminating items disposed of (well, melted down into omni-gel by my ever-valuable Omni-tool), We made it through the security checkpoints with little hassle. My remaining creds (Kasumi's ill-gotten ones had been taken from her by Owens) go towards two tickets to Detroit.

"Where are we going to get the credits for a shuttle off of earth?" Kasumi points out to me.  
"I know someone who can help us." Comes my reply. In reality, I'm just hoping that Mr. Employee would help me out again. I did what he had asked me to do, sort of. Now, He should let me know what to do next. "For now, lets just get there."

* * *

The shuttle is half-filled, with around 30 people spread out through the seats. Moving to our own, we settle in for the relatively short trip. My relaxation came in the form of my mp3 player, which had made it through everything I had. 'Simple luxuries.' The sounds of A.D.H.D. earn me a tap on the shoulder from Kasumi.

"Ignoring the relic you're using to play it, what is that music?" I raise my eyebrow briefly, before realizing it's now older than the both of us.

"Kendrick Lamar." I hand my free earbud to her. She takes it, inserting it into her ear as it plays on. She listens to the lyrics for a few seconds before asking me where I found this, confused. "Oh, around," I answer with a cryptic smile on my face. "Why?"

"Because it probably shouldn't exist." Now it is my turn to be confused.

"Why?" She motions to her Omni-tool, where an extranet window is open.

_"No search results found for _'Kendrick Lamar'._"_ I frown at this, and immediately open my own search bar.

'Ab-Soul' Nothing.  
'Eminem' No results.  
'Metallica' Zilch.

"Ajsdnyhfru?!" My shock cannot be put into words.

"Look up music suppression, 2054." Kasumi says, and I do so. The results are extremely depressing, and completely ridiculous.

* * *

_"The Explicit Music Suppression act, carried out in 2054, was a motion by politicians who were concerned with the level of obscenity in recent music, and felt that it was damaging the minds of the new generation. This opinion was met with extremely mixed reactions, and many protesters objected on several different grounds. After months of debate,the act was declared legal, and over 90% of the music created over the past hundred years was scrubbed from the internet and connected computers through mandatory updates. The resulting riots caused by people resisting this movement went on for over two years. They were only put to a stop when the act was lifted in 2056, but by that time little remained in terms of actual written lyrics, with many of the artists who had created them dead or forced to turn over all material in the hopes that they wouldn't release the content again. This also marked the last time an appointed official was reprimanded for allowing spiritual beliefs to cause such instability. "- Earth archives, updated 2175._

* * *

I glare harshly at the last statement. Of. Course. Suddenly, a horrifying thought crosses my mind, causing me to frantically type in a new search, only breathing a sigh of relief when it comes up empty as well.

"What was that about?" Kasumi asks me.

"Just making sure a certain plague was snuffed out." I reply as I clear 'Justin Bieber' from my search bar. "Well, what do you think?" She looks at the mp3 player now in my hand.

"I think you're sitting on a potential goldmine." She replies. "Where did you get that?" I only smirk at her, and she pouts slightly. "Meanie."

* * *

Upon landing, I begin to feel something is amiss. My thoughts are confirmed as the pilot's voice sounds from a loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay, but Metro Security is concerned over a possible security threat aboard. Please stand by." My eyes lock onto Kasumi.

"No way that it's us," she whispers, looking towards the airlock regardless. "Nobody knows we were involved with Owens." The airlock opens, revealing two fully-armored men with Avengers in their charcoal-colored armor showes no recognizable insignia. The gaze of the first man lands on us, and I immediately look at Kasumi as if to say 'are you sure?'. As they wind their way towards us, I slide my mp3 player into my pocket. Upon reaching us, the first man speaks.

"Cory Weston?"

"Um, no?" I reply as I slowly raise my hands up, palms out.

Only to see an assault rifle stock flying towards my face. "Motherf-"

Pain, followed by darkness.

* * *

Following my return to consciousness, I reflect on something important: 'I HAVE to stop waking up with a splitting headache wondering where I'm at.' I look around the room I find myself in, finding bland walls, a light attached to the ceiling, a door with no interface, a mirror on one side, and a metal table that my hands are unfortunately cuffed to."Shit, I could be in any interrogation room in the galaxy." I mutter, and as if on cue, the door opens, revealing a glimpse of a hallway made up of the same metallic material as the cell before closing behind a man in his thirties maybe, head shaved bald and wearing a plain white uniform under a lab coat, of all things. He sits down in the chair on the opposite end of the table I'm restrained to, and starts to speak.

"Well, do you know why you are here?" he asks as his Omni-tool activates, recording the conversation.

"My yearly check-up?" He smiles a moment, then presses a button on his Omni-tool.

Flaming daggers seem to pierce every inch of my skin as I convulse in my chair, feeling the most agonizing pain I've ever known. As soon as it started, the sensation stops, leaving me panting for breath.

"I'd advise you to look at the device on your wrist, Mr. Weston." I do. It looks like an oversized, black wristwatch. "That device is wired into your nerves, a stroke of genius if I do say so myself. Instead of affecting pleasure centers, which certain suit rats are infamous for, it lights up your pain receptors, causing hell on your mind but no lasting damage to your body."

The smug pride in his work, and the off-handed racism he used, made me aware that something was very, very wrong here.

* * *

"What is it that you want?"

"Catching on, are you? Very good. You appeared seemingly out of thin air in the Detroit Metro logs. Before that, there is no trace of your existence. Care to explain?"

"I'm not sure what you mean." I say, carefully choosing my words carefully. "I'm just a street kid from Detroit." He smiles at this, and I know I've fallen into a trap.

"And yet you appear in Tokyo, and bring down a crime boss who tries to kill you. Don't be surprised," he adds looking at me. "The people I work for have eyes everywhere. How is it you just simply appear there, in time to interrupt his day?"

"It was simple coincidence," I begin. "I was just there-" I'm stopped mid speech by his pressing the button again, for longer this time. By the time I recover, I'm shaking like a leaf.

"I could do this all day," he begins. " But I have someone who can simply pull the information I seek a lot easier. I don't like her, but I can't deny her usefulness." He taps something out on the wrist-mounted device that I'm beginning to hate, and a few moments later the door opens, revealing an Asari in yellow armor. My blood runs cold as I realize his plan.

"Probe his mind" The doctor, for lack of a better title, says." We need to know how he managed to end up in Detroit with no prior history." She simply nods, and approaches my chair. There is no dramatic speech; she merely blinks and proceeds to alter the very meaning of mindfuck.

The experience is hard to understand, akin to someone trying to rip a book away from you you really didn't want them to read. As my mind struggled, I could feel her trying to watch my memories like a movie. As past experiences came to focus, I realized that I could still see the room, and if I focused on one particular memory, it became clearer. Using this, I plan a little mindfuck of my own.

* * *

_(POV Dr. Decker)_

I can see the veins in his temple pulse as the blue bitch works her magic. 'She has a streak of cruelty about her that I can appreciate, at least.' Only it started to go wrong.

I notice a shift: the added stress seemed to be on HER face now, as if she has found something horrifying. All of the sudden, she breaks away, screaming slightly as she bumps into the wall.

"For god's sake, what?" I demand.

"He... He actively resisted me," She begins. "He even started to... Invade MY mind.. All I could see was raw emotion." She shivers at this, and it alerts me to just how bad it may have been to see a 300-year old woman shiver. "There was so much pain.. Anguish, rage..." She looks me dead in the eyes. "If you are planning on breaking him, don't waste your time." she looks over to the pale man now slumped over the table, out cold. "He won't break." She walks out without another word, and I smile as she leaves. I speak now to my Omni-tool.

"He's a good candidate. He will become unstoppable with the training we have planned, but he will bend to our will. Everyone breaks eventually."

* * *

_(POV Cory)_

'Another day, another time I wake up in a strange place with my head pulsing. I should start just expecting this.'

I slowly get up from the floor, looking at my new surroundings. it seems like a barracks, with six small beds in the room, and two ajar doors revealing bathrooms. My attention is drawn to the.. Unique looking people now standing in front of me. The first, a monster of a man at at least 6' 7" speaks first.

"Welcome to Hell."


	6. The Company You Keep

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. At all. Srsly.**

* * *

**A/N: **Welcome one and all to the next installment of Of Soul and Steel. I've been cleaning up the previous chapters as best I can, and I try to monitor for errors as I go. Don't hesitate to let me know if I miss anything. And if you can, drop a review, even if it's just like "Great. Want more." They make it seem worth it to write the story, and attract more readers, which makes me want to shell out more chapters as often as I can. Shameless plug aside, enjoy :)

* * *

_Location unknown_  
_January 24th, 2177._

He steps forward, extending his hand, and I realize that I was mistaken. He was even **taller**, standing at nearly seven feet. With broad-looking soldiers, olive skin, and buzz-cut hair, He would paint a far more intimidating picture if not for the smile on his face as I take his hand.

"Hell, huh? Catchy."

"Trust me," The second of the trio says, a deathly pale, shorter man with a wide scar over his cheek. "You'll come to know it as the same." I nod, looking towards the final member of the little group. A girl, no older than 18 maybe, with dark hair, and... Oh, oh God.

She looks just like Ana.

The same nose, eye shape... As I continue to look, I start to notice the higher cheekbones, the different facial structure. It's not her, but it reminds me of the things that had shifted to the back of my mind. I wonder briefly why I'm not a gibbering mess, curled up on the floor.

"Um, why are you staring at me?" She asks. Shit.

"Sorry" I say quickly, averting my eyes and walking towards one of the free beds. "You just... Remind me of someone I used to know." I sit down, and look back towards the group. "My name is Cory." Surprisingly, the pale man chuckles.

"Kid, names don't matter here." He looks towards the larger man. "Delta, maybe you should explain the situation." I raise my eyebrows.

"Alright," 'Delta' says. "Where should I start? ah, okay." He looks towards the locked door before continuing. "Each of us here was coerced, tricked, or simply forced to come here. As for the reason," he glances at me before continuing. "We're here because we showed traits that would prove beneficial for a program these guys have been running. They're developing our combat skills, our motor functions, and our general knowledge of warfare. They're trying to make supersoldiers."

"That sounds insane. Who are these people?" I ask.

"We're not sure." He replies. "Not Alliance, I know that much. I was in the Alliance before I ended up here. They wouldn't do something this extreme."

"Then who?" My suspicions were pointing me towards something, but I couldn't be sure.

"Like I said, we're not sure. I do know that this facility is extremely small, and we're the only 'subjects' here."

"And the name?" I inquire.

"The doctors here gave it to me. They seem to recycle Greek letters."

"Wait, recycle?"

He looks at me a moment, than motions me to follow him. I do, and we head into the bathroom. He fills the sink with water, and submerges the hand that has a wristband like mine on it, motioning for me to do the same.

"We can talk now, so long as we're quiet. There are microphones in the devices, but the water distorts the sound coming through."

"Clever."

"You can thank Alpha for that one."

"Alpha?"

"The girl. She's been here longer than me or Gamma. Ghost, as the nickname goes."

"Ghost, huh? Kinda cheesy."

"Each one of us can take a nickname, makes us feel special I guess. I've never wanted one, and I guess Alpha hasn't either. But back to the reason we're pruning our fingers. Alpha has said that there were others here before her, and just vanished without any announcement or reason. We assume the tests and experiments take their tolls, killing us one way or the other." A cold chill runs up my spine at these words.

"Wait, what?" His face is dark as he explains.

"We weren't joking about the hell thing. The shit they make us do here... Their methods either work extremely well, or cause your painful death. I'm not sure which is worse, with these people."

"So we're lab rats."

"More or less."

"Shit, do you guys have a plan?"

"Of a sort. I'll let you know when it actually starts to form. For now, we've just been swiping what we can. Random crap, most of which is useless. But we'll figure it out."

"Lovely." He takes his hand out of the water, and I follow him back to the bunks.

"For now, you've got a reprieve. The only thing they'll pull you for is a scan." Seeing my confusion, he elaborates. "It's a full body scan that'll give them a sense of how to train you. That, coupled with the psych evaluation, Will show what you might excel in, be it shotguns, snipers, biotics. Whatever you may be predisposed to."

"I'm not 'predisposed' to anything." I argue.

"There must be some reason you're here." He replies.

I think about this. 'Everything I've done lately? Most people would've fallen to pieces. I'm not far from it, but I'm still sane. Why? And how have I taken down people without flinching? It almost feels like instinct... And I don't know how to feel about that.' Delta looks at me a moment, and continues.

"Well, anyways, grab an empty bunk and relax. The real shit begins soon." I heed his words, sitting down on one of the beds as Gamma dims the lights on a wall-mounted switch and Alpha and Delta try to unwind. As I consider everything Delta has told me, I start to process everything that has happened over the past 4 days. It feels like it has been weeks. I reach for my tags on instinct only to find they're not there. As my stomach drops I lay down fully, curling away from the others. it's time to let myself grieve.

* * *

I'm awakened by the sound of my shackle beeping. As I groggily sit up I realize that it hasn't been a nightmare, but a sick reality.

What a fun way to start the day.

The wristband beeps again, and I start to move towards the door barefoot, my shoes taken from me before I first woke up here. As I pay attention to the lack of the others in the room, I only wonder what is in my future. The door opens, revealing two armed guards and the sick bastard that 'interviewed' me.

"Well now, Mr. Weston. Good to see you're awake."

"Good to see you doc,"I answer sarcastically. "How's your blue friend?"

"A bit traumatized, but no lasting damage," He replies easily." You know, Mr. Weston, you are interesting. Atypical. Nobody has fought so hard against a mind probe with such successful results."

"I try to be unique." I reply wistfully.

"Time will tell if that is useful to us. For now, we need to run some tests on you to check your abilities." He turns to the two guards."Take him to Exam Room 2, and let Sasha know she has a patient." He then walks away, leaving me to my fate.

It turns out modern medicine is highly efficient. After being brought to the room and told to behave under fear of the item biting into my wrist, The guards leave, and are replaced by a kind-looking woman in a nurse's uniform. As she runs the non-invasive, highly intelligent V.I.-operated scan on me, she starts to speak.

"You know, Dr. Decker might not seem friendly, but he has humanity's best interests at heart."

"Decker's his name, huh?" I ask. "And he has humanity's best interests at heart? What about everyone else?" I ask, expecting a racist reply.

"Humanity is a newcomer to the galactic stage. We need to prove we're just as capable as anyone else before we'll be taken seriously, and the other races will accept our help." I'm surprised by this view, and tell her so. "Not everyone here is some xenophobic, head-up-their-ass fool who thinks humanity should rule over all. I agree with the program's goals, but not with their personnel."

I look at her with surprise, glancing at my wrist.

She's quick to reply. "Don't worry, those audio things never work around me. My Omni-tool jams those. I don't like being spied on." I smile at her words, but my next question is far more bitter.

"Sasha, do you know exactly what goes on here?" she frowns, surprised I know her name.

"I hear things.." she replies uneasily.

"You must know some of it. Do you think it is really for the goo of humanity?" My eyes plead with her, but she clams up immediately.

"Look, it's not my place to question results." She stops at the sounds of the scan completing. "Interesting. I'll forward the results of this to Decker. The guards will escort you back to your quarters."

I walk towards the door, but stop short. "Sasha, it's your place as a good person to question things that are morally unjust. For your sake, be careful of the company you keep." She shivers at the warning in my voice, And as I leave, she can't meet my eyes.

* * *

Welcome, Jack. Please enter your password

Authorizing...

Accepted

Loading requested files: Deckeraudiolog 472,

Opening Deckeraudiolog 472:

"When the Titan program began 5 years ago, I was a naive man believing science was a grand and beautiful thing that would help everyone it came across. I soon learned that the ends can justify any means. The work we've done here so far has been too valuable to let morals get in our way. We will make sure that humanity has the respect it deserves with this project.

Mr. Weston is an intriguing individual. His scans show an impressive mental fortitude, and I've seen first hand over the past week of drills that he is enduring for someone of his stature, even more so impressive when I learned he is only fifteen. He has a remarkable will to survive.

The scans also revealed the other reason the mental probe was ineffective: Mr. Weston has Eezo in his system, but no implant. As such, it is undeveloped, and there isn't enough there to make him effective as a biotic. I'm only surprised that this has not been noticed before, but it shows no signs of harming him. However, it did give him a sort of passive resistance to biotics, which is highly fascinating. If we found a way to direct this ability, perhaps make a device that mimics this process, we could have another defense against biotic power.

But moving on. He is intelligent, fairly quick for his size, and he shows proficient abilites with the sniper rifle and pistol, as well as a decent grasp with the other standard weapons tested. Further training will bolster these traits and others. I've authorized the Phoenix Nanomites and Neural Optical Enhancer, and am considering the Neural Reflex Booster and Hypertrophy Regulator, as well as a Nociceptor Inhibitor. We will have to monitor the first two for signs of rejection or impairment. They're experimental, but they should give us good information for when we make better, safer models for soldiers.

I have decided to give Mr. Weston the title of Epsilon, and when he was informed of this he decided to be called 'Echo'. While I am unsure of it's ultimate meaning, It will suffice. For now, Echo is settling in with his bunkmates with no problems. Alpha, our longest-surviving test subject so far, has taken a particular interest in him. When asked, she simply said "It feels as though I should know him somehow" I will monitor their social interactions for any developments

This is Dr. Francis Decker, Titan Research Center, February 2nd, 2177.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay guys, my weekend has been unfairly busy. As for questions a guest asked, all will be revealed in time, but for now we are in the dark as much as our protagonist.


	7. Exodus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, and I make no money with this story.**

* * *

**A/N:** People of the Fanfiction Wasteland, you can seeeee me! YEAH BOY! You can't break this computer. I've fought off the attempts of the internet, and Of Soul and Steel has hit 1000 views. I'm celebrating with another chapter. Thank you all, and as always, let me know what you think about the story.

This next chapter's gonna speed up the timeline a bit. I'd initially wanted to write out in detail the sick things that would transpire in a place like this, but now I'm leaning towards it being told in more of a "This is what happened to me" to the major characters. The Shepard(M) tag isn't just there for shits and giggles. Their will be some Point Of View changes as the chapter develops, and we see a shift in character development. Let us commence with the tale. **Edit:** Read the logs in the voice of Liam Neeson, whom I also do not own.

* * *

_Titan Research Facility, Uncharted Area, Attican Traverse._  
_Dr. Decker_

Log 476, Dated February 28th, 2177_: "Our latest subject has been here for a mere month, and he has shown signs of extreme adaptability. The implants synchronized with his system with success. His body has shown an unusual lack of trouble integrating them; they've almost fused with him. I've forwarded the go ahead for the other implants._

_He's shown an adaptability to the different exercises as well, almost as though he knows what he's going to go through before he does it. Impossible, but it's just an observation. He has been a remarkable influence on the other subjects, becoming friends with each while the others simply accept each others presence. I will have to watch this closely, as friendship leads to unity, which leads to rebellion."_ End log.

* * *

(POV Cory)

I lie facedown on the bed in the Medical Office, Sasha examining the damage to my back.

"Well," She starts, "You have some lovely bruises, but you're gonna be okay. What happened?" She then asks, the concern breaking through her mask of indifference.

"They had me sparring with Ghost. He's a helluva biotic." I answer, wincing.

"I'm sorry Cory." She says, now more comfortable with my first name. "The things they make you guys do..."

"You know what the messed up part was?" I say. "They weren't even recording us this time. They were just.. Watching. Cheering as we tore each other apart for their amusement." I shiver a little as she applies Medi-gel to my aching back. "Please, Sasha.." I start.

"No, Cory. They'll make me disappear if I do what you asked." She says.

"Sasha, you have to help us, please. We're gonna be killed if this keeps up, You know that. I only need a few things." My eyes plead desperately with her, trying to show the pain in them.

"... Fine.." She answers, relenting.

"Thank you, Sasha. Thank you." I say as I get myself off of the table, limping. You have no idea how much you'll be able to help."

After I'm escorted back to the barracks, my posture straightens and the look of extreme pain slides off my face. Alpha approaches me, hopeful.

"It work?" She asks, not wanting to be disappointed. I simply nod, and she wraps her arms around me, nearly crushing me with her biotics as she gets too happy for her own good.

"Hey, I need that spine." I joke playfully, and she steps away, embarrassed.

"Sorry." I can see the blush on her face.

"It's fine, Alpha." I smile reassuringly. "Let the others know when they come back, even the new guy."  
"You sure?" She asks. "He seems.. Shifty, to me. Rude, and not at all willing to be helpful."

"I'll get him to come around." I assure her. "He's just been through hell, sure as I have."

"Maybe..."

"For now, lets just relax. I'm gonna try to sleep to avoid the pain."

"Really think that'll work?"

"Nah, but I dare to dream."

* * *

Decker Log 480, dated March 15th, 2177. _Our new subject, Sigma, or 'Shadow', has integrated well into the group as a whole. He remains by far our best-turned candidate, and will weed out any plans for attack. Subject Echo has been surprisingly resistant to the food-based and medical-based control drugs, but we are working on a slow takeover with luck. Delta has been resistant as well, but his size and existing implants already explain this. We will most likely have to dispose of him in the coming months._

_As for Alpha, the slow takeover is mostly complete. However, Echo remains an influence on her, and they often seek each others company to talk about their days. We will have to take action. With luck, we will break Echo's will as well._

_But for now, we simply monitor for change."_ End Log

Update Log 480.1, dated April 7th, 2177. _"This is an update on the monitoring done by Sigma. We searched for the items that were supposed to be there, but found nothing. The other four are now suspicious, and have seemingly stopped talking about their plans. Still have not traced where the supplies are coming from. We will have to take action. It is time for Alpha anyways._ End Log

* * *

(POV Cory)

"Ow."

"You should've jumped, Echo."

"Piss off, Delta."

We return to our barracks after our ungodly long training, only to find Alpha still gone. She'd left last night.

"No." 'There is no way.'

"Echo.." Delta tries to lay a hand on my shoulder but I immediately shrug him off. "Hey man, we knew that something was-"

"NO WE DIDN'T!" I explode, emotions starting to get the better of me. "She was fine yesterday, Delta! She would've said something if something was wrong."

"She did." I whip around, and Ghost is standing there, eyes down. "She told me that she felt off, and she's been here longer than any of us. I'm sorry, Echo." And it shows on his face the real sadness and pain that the man never shows.

"Dammit... GODDAMMIT..." I'm in a haze again, unable to accept what I already know. "Why didn't she tell me?.."

"Would you have said something if it was you?" Ghost asks, and I don't answer. I only look to Shadow, staring at what was Alpha's but with sadness.. and something else.

"It's time." I say suddenly, and the three look at me, surprised. I only nod my head in confirmation.'We will go after the final piece of the plan. It will take a while, but we need to move before more of us.. Vanish. Time to talk to Sasha.'

* * *

Decker Log 492. June 13th, 2177. _"As the remaining subjects go through further training, they grow more resistant to our containment techniques. We've amplified the available power in the restraint bands, but I'm not sure how effective it will be._

Decker Log 498. August 21st, 2177. _"We have them. Sigma tipped us off as to the escape day being today, though the exact_ _remains unknown. We have more than tripled the guard count. But I wonder if it will be enough. I wonder if we should just kill them now. We've pulled more information than we've dreamed, but it's ran its course on them. Only Sigma is loyal, and the others are far too dangerous now if they got out of confinement. I will await your instructions, as always. But please consider what I've said."_

* * *

(POV Cory)

It is time. Delta, Ghost, and Shadow are all in the barracks, and Sasha says she has the gear here in the medical office, but what she is saying now makes me think that she has spoken.

"They've increased the security measures, Cory. You can't do this."

"How did they know?" I demand, waiting.

"I don't know," She responds. "Look, the items are in here but I can't allow you to-" She stops as she sees me approaching her. "What are you doing?" she asks, face fearful.

"We have to get out, Sasha." I say. "And I can't let you stop us." She realizes what I mean, and frantically turns on my wristband. I feel the scorching pain, but it doesn't paralyze me as it has before. Panicking, she tries to run for the door, but I reach out and wrap my arm around her throat.

"I'm sorry." Is the last thing she hears before her neck snaps in one fluid jerk.

I move quickly now, using her Omni-tool to turn off my wristband, and open the locked closet. Inside is the chlorine bombs, the gas masks, and other essential items. 'Time for payback'. After putting the Omni-tool and mask on, and cutting the wristband off, which causes an alarm to start to blare, I dash.

I arm the bombs, placing one at the wristband and syncing it and the remaining one to Sasha's Omni-tool. I run to the subject barracks, and I hear guards converging on my band, and coming this way. I open the door, and the guys are quick to take their masks and put them on. Dropping another bomb here, I cut the wristbands before they can be activated, and I'm the last back out the door as the guards start to arrive. With only a moment's hesitation, I activate the bombs.

While the concussion force was was small, the gas rapidly spreads. At over 800 ppm, it was causing the guards to collapse after a few breaths. We sprint through the gas, but we're forced to split up as helmeted guards start to approach behind us. We created many secondary ideas and routes to the shuttles, and we're putting them to use. I run with Delta to the right as Ghost and Shadow head left.

The gas is starting to be pumped out as we run, and the two guards armed with Katanas that turn the corner we were about to go around. I'm on the first in a flash, shoving the man into a wall and using his own shotgun to scramble his skull inside his helmet. Delta takes a more hands on approach to the second man, grabbing the man's helmet and twisting it to the side with a resounding _crack_ before picking up his own shotgun.

Like that, we were armed.

We sprint towards the small shuttle bay, where many masked scientists are scrambling to get out of the facility. We largely ignore them, and manage to get on a space-worthy shuttle. While Delta fires it up, I activate comms on all frequencies, knowing at this point Shadow or Ghost would've picked up a radio.

"Sigma, Gamma, come in! Guys, we need to go now! where are you?" After a few moments, I get a response.

_"Epsilon, this is Sigma. We were cornered at the control room. Ghost.. He's gone. they're coming here to activate lockdown protocols... I'm going to stop them."_

"Sigma! Come on, you can get out of here man!" I'm screaming now into the comm. device as I hear gunfire pinging off of the shuttle.

_"No, I can't. Go, guys. Live on. I'm activating the destruct sequence on this place. It'll purge the whole facility in fire. A fitting end."_

"I.. I'm sorry Sigma."

"Cory.. Call me Kai."

I swallow hard before responding. "Goodbye, Kai." I turn to Delta, who sits in the pilot's seat, head bowed. "Let's go."

* * *

(POV Kai)

_"Goodbye, Kai."_

I turn to the body of Ghost. He never expected the shot in the back, it would seem. I turn to the purge console. While I could kill them all now, something stops me. I've grown to almost respect Cory, and it holds me back. Instead, I activate the purge controls, protected by the only safe room in the facility. 'A fitting end for the sick bastards here. We will meet again, Echo.'

* * *

(POV Jack)

"And the facility?"

"Intact, but the computer files were wiped. Most of the personnel were killed as well, unable to complete launch procedures."

"Many files were sent here well beforehand. While the outcome was regrettable, Project Titan has given us a lot of important data towards making our soldiers more capable."

"Sir, we also recorded that the files pertaining to the last four subjects were copied onto an Omni-tool. Should we send a recovery team after the escaped subjects?"

"No."

"Sir?"

"They won't go to any government to be put back in a facility. We can reach them if they do. They will go to ground, and it's not worth it to go hunting them as of now. Monitor if they try to track down anyone tied to Titan or us, but leave them be."

"Yes sir."

"And Miranda?"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Leng has proven himself once again. See to it that he contacts me directly."

* * *

**A/N: **Shit gets real. Next one will be up soon, never fear.


	8. Blood Has A Pricetag

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or any of it's characters or anything. And to get this out of the way now, I do not own any of the songs mentioned or their artists, including but not limited to: Eminem, Metallica, Ab-Soul, or Kendrick Lamar. I only have rights to my OCs, so if you use them at least be like "can I use these?"**

**A/N:** I feel like writing once more, so you guys get another chapter. I don't have a set schedule for new chapters right now, it's mostly whenever I have ideas about where I'm going. For now, I'm trying to shell out short chapters frequently, rather than long chapters once a week.

And now, I'm going to tell some tales of intrigue, but I don't have six years worth of content to post beyond vague ideas. However, I have some to put to paper, and the rest will be more timeline. I may fill in some more of these vague ideas at a later date. But enough babbling. Enjoy.

_Omega, Sahrabarik_ _System, Omega Nebula _

_August 23rd, 2177._

Omega is in it's morning phase when we arrive, people bustling to get wherever it is they're going. We aren't given much thought despite our blood-stained clothing and Delta's massive frame, which I guess must be more common on Omega than we considered. We sell the shuttle to a random salesman who didn't question it's condition, and get enough credits to purchase some clean clothing, as well as a temporary apartment. Once we're inside, we nearly fall over from exhaustion.

"Man, I feel like shit. But soo good." Delta rambles.

"I know what you mean man. we're free. Really free." I ramble back.

"You think so man?"

"Yeah, I do." We sit in silence for a while, savoring the taste of freedom, mixed with a bitter grief at what it cost us. Delta breaks the silence first.

"So, what now?"

"I got into contact with a friend on the way here." I say. "He said that he could get us some credits, as well as a new line of work, if you're interested."

"Well, I can't go back to the Alliance, considering I was grabbed off of a damn base. Your friend sounds like he's looking out for us. How do you know him?" Oh boy.

"We have a.. Complicated history. And I'm not very happy with him as of late." I reply. He seems to accept this.

"Alright. So what are we waiting on?"

"A knock on the door." I answer sarcastically.

Only to hear a knock on the door.

... Dammit.

I get up and answer it, greeting my least favorite Salarian.

"You little shit."

"I know," He answers."But you know I couldn't get involved. It would've caused a whole lot of problems."

"And the other stuff?" I ask. "I read the medical reports Mr. Spook." He smiles at the name.

"There were certain things I could affect, without drawing attention to myself. And I did." He explains vaguely, walking in. "Nice place."

"It's temporary." I turn to Delta. "This is the guy I mentioned."

Delta nods. "I heard you have an opportunity for us."

"Of sorts." He responds. "You two know of the Shadow Broker." We nod. "He has a massive network of informants, spies, mercenaries, and assassins. I've recommended you both very highly to him, and he learned of your previous captivity. He's offered to deny any who try to learn about you, as well as a paycheck in exchange for.. Your abilities."

"Wow. How highly did you recommend us?" Delta asks.

"I just shared some of the medical files and combat reports Cory forwarded me. The Broker believes you two are very capable, and would like to put this to the test." I consider this.

"When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. He has sent ahead some durable, functional weapons and armor in a gesture of goodwill."

"Seems like he's taking a big gamble." Delta interjects. "And how do you know all of this, anyways?"

"My employers are powerful people, Mr. Yusarn. They've worked with the Broker before." I chuckle at the mention of Delta's last name, which causes him to flinch.

"I guess we don't have much choice." Delta says.

"Well, we could simply pay the Broker to keep you two off record, but this arrangement is far simpler. And the Broker pays the most in terms of salary. You two could become trusted agents."

"Well," I start. "It could be our best course. What do you think Delta?"

"I think that it could be a good arrangement, for now. Be sure to let him know that we don't plan on anything permanent, or killing any good people." He directs this last statement to our houseguest, and I nod at it.

"I will make sure he understands this." He promises. "For now, get some rest, and the gear should be here in the morning." With that, the man leaves, once more leaving me with many questions and little in the way of answers.

The next morning, we find a large crate waiting for us in a package center a few blocks away. After carting it from the UPS-esque building to our apartment. Inside, we find two sets of black armor, tailored to our body sizes, two weapon packs containing Avenger and Scimitar-style weapons for Delta, and Predator, Mantis, and suprisingly, Shuriken-style weapons for myself. 'Guess subs had some popularity before 2185.' Each weapon was a crimson color, stamped with the Elkoss Combine logo. The armor was similarly stamped on the interior.

It also contained two Omni-tools, a Logic Arrest for Delta, though mine was a _Savant_ due to the training I'd gotten in using them. "Fancy gear." I comment, nearly drooling, and Delta nods approvingly.

"Expensive too. You have some good friends, Echo."

"I guess this makes up for them being assholes."

The next item in the crate was a datapad, containing an audio file from our newfound employer.

* * *

_**"Echo, Delta. This is the Shadow Broker." **_The voice sends chills up my spine. I knew the creature that makes that sound._**" Important people have told me you can be depended on to get things done. This first assignment will see if this is so.**_

_**"You are to bring down a local criminal ring on Omega, who have been pushing tainted Eezo to the Eclipse and Blood Pack mercenaries. The removal of this ring and their products will bring you significant compensation. The details are on this datapad and will delete an hour after they are opened. Shadow Broker, out."**_

* * *

"Wow," Delta says. "We have something big here, man. We could get whatever we want with someone like this on our side." I nod, starting to read the information listed.

"We can do this, Delta." I say, looking at our objective. "We're not running scared anymore. We're well-equipped," I motion towards our care package." And we have more than the ability to use them now. We will prove ourselves here." He nods, and starts to read over the datapad himself. Delta is a huge guy, but he's deadly intelligent in the art of warfare as well now. I can see the smile on his face start to spread as the plan forms.

"Well it sounded good in my head."

"Delta, I nearly had my face taken off!"

"You're fine. You lived."

* * *

(Undead POV)

"Time for things to move towards awesomeness."

Subject: Cory Weston, A.K.A. Epsilon, A.K.A. Echo, and known associates.

Files: movements and activities

Restrictions: As per agreement, only SB, UKXZ, and fans who review requesting the files to be written in detail have access to these files. Unauthorized access is prohibited and punishable by Hanar hit squads.

_August 24th, 2177: The mission is completed successfully, the ring eliminated and the warehouse containing the tainted Eezo destroyed. Operatives Delta and Echo are uninjured. Payment forwarded to relevant agents for delivery._

_August 30th, 2177: Operatives request apartment on Citadel in exchange for another assignment. Request is granted upon completion of objective, the removal of a varren infestation caused by Blood Pack mercenaries running an extortion ring on Omega residents._

_September 22nd, 2177. Operative Echo makes a name for himself by saving a Volus from a Human assassin._ Accessing relevant data... Received.

* * *

(POV Cory)

Me and Delta have been on the Citadel for a little over three weeks now. We live in a functional 3-bedroom apartment on Aroch Ward, which I didn't know existed until we had the place. The game hadn't gone into the names of every Ward, so I am interested in the previously unexplored zones. I find that the wards are all set up similarly to Zakara Ward, but concentrate slightly more on certain things. For example, Tayseri Ward is more accommodating to the arts, while Aroch has a focus on residential areas, meaning many on the Citadel lay their heads down here to sleep.

It's on one of my exploration trips that I find someone having a bad day.

I see a Volus desperately trying to run, while a man in black armor is pursuing him. The crowds of Zakara are bowled over by the armored man, who is rapidly closing on the Volus. I step into the man's path slightly as I see him pulling a Carnifex-based pistol from his hip. I let the Volus move past me, and just as the Human is about to pass, I simply extend my arm out. The sprinting man's unarmored throat slams into my extended forearm, and the combination of his own momentum and my rigid posture sends him tumbling to the ground. A boot to the side of the head sends the man to la-la-land.

"Thank.. Thank you.." The Volus says, wheezing even more than usual. "Who.. are you?" He asks in between breaths.

I look back towards the people who were starting to gather. "An echo of the people who used to help others." I say, glaring a little at the people who didn't even question the odd chase.

Well... Then.. Echo... My name is... Rupe... I thank you... Once again... For your help." he says, starting to catch his breath.

"Don't mention it." I say as I start to walk on.

"Oh, but I will... Mention it." He says."My last name... Is what you should... take notice of. It is... Elkoss, and I promise.. Echo of Citadel, I wont forget... What you've done for me here."

I turn back in shock. "I didn't recognize you, Sir."

"Please... Call me Rupe... Take care, Echo."

Later that day I find my actions all over the news: 'Unknown man saves Elkoss Combine C.E.O.' I smile at this. 'I've actually done something helpful.' I consider this. 'I have been taught to be cold, ruthless, a murderer, both by those as Titan, and by circumstance. But I still want to keep my morals. For everything I've been through, can I still call myself a good person?'

End file.

* * *

_October 1st, 2177. Operative Delta tasked with clearing Red Sand distribution center in Zakara Ward while Echo provides overwatch. Group disbanded, rival group seized product and paid for work done. Echo makes objection to the conclusion._

_November 15th,2177. Operative Echo tasked with stealing Asari artwork from private owner on Bachjret Ward. Had to forge underworld connections to get Echo to do the job. _Accessing relevant data... Received.

* * *

A/N: Always good times. I split up this chapter and to preserve average chapter length. I will continue with more soon. Stay tuned!


	9. New World Industries

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. I also do not own Assassin's Creed, or Dishonored, which will be referenced in this chapter.

A/N: Welcome back all! Good to see you. To answer the guest who duplicated his review like a weirdo, I have no idea. Nothing is written in stone. Shepard will probably have somebody, cos it's Shepard, but my character... No clue. Wait! He will have a harem of female Batarians! No, no... That's ridiculous. Wait and see. And Cf96, glad you you like the story. Now, enjoy.

You would think, that security would improve in two century's time. And you would be right, usually. But the building I enter is conspicuously quiet. No alarms, no cameras active, no guards. It's my lucky night it would seem.

Nevertheless, I move quietly, my dark clothing indistinguishable from the shadow. The fancy night vision glasses SB got me make everything crystal clear as I approach the particular painting. While nondescript, it's apparently one of the most expensive items here. After scanning for the security devices that weren't there, I get my hands around it just as a voice speaks behind me.

"Stealing is wrong you know." I smile at that voice, and my hand moves away from my pistol.

"That's rather amusing, coming from you..." I say, turning around. "Kasumi." Sure enough, the hooded, though not in her trademark outfit, woman flinches.

"How do you.." She looks fully at my face as I tilt my hood back. "Cory?" Suddenly, i'm assaulted by a half-hug, half-strangle by a teary-eyed Asian girl. "What.. What happened? Where did you go? I tried to ask the poet security and they said you didn't exist!"

I smile at her concern, but motion towards her."First things first. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, this?" She says, a grin on her face. "Just a little moonlighting. You?"

"A shadowy friend wants this painting." I point to the one I was about to take.

"Ah." She says, looking it over. "Appropriately expensive. I'm here for a strange little piece from Earth. Care to tag along?" She asks, eyes full of mischief now.

"Sure." I smile, already rolling up the small painting before carefully placing it in my bag.

As we walk, I try to fill her in on all that has happened over the last year. She stands nearly agape at the end, and hardly believes a word of it.

"It's true," I tell her. "You can ask my roommate once we're done here."

"Oh, you guys are roommates, huh? I should've figured."

"Hey!" I protest, and I see the humor in her eyes. "You're not as funny as you'd like to believe, miss Goto."

"No, I'm funnier." She responds. "Here we are." We've reached a lot of older-looking items, perhaps from the 1800's, and Kasumi looks like a kid in a candy store as she stares at the items.

"What were you here for?" I ask.

"Just some fancy blade that was made a few hundred years ago," She says, still looking around." A large switchblade, in a way."

"What, that thing?" I point to the weapon mounted over some other items along the far wall?"

"Looks like it." She says, moving towards it. "The Turian who hired me said the Turian who owns all this bought it along with some other items from a Human he was planning on buying it from, and now he's getting it for a far better price. He only wanted the blade apparently."

I nod, not really paying attention. The things here.. I realize after a moment the irony of our coming here. "Kasumi." I say, and she looks at me. "These are not hundreds of years old."

"What?" She asks.

I nod towards the blade. "That is from a video game from only about 160 years ago. It's not something from actual history." I examine the other things here. "These aren't authentic items." My inner geek is smiling at the gear though, nearly drooling.

"Hmm, so what is this stuff?" She inquires.

"Well, that blade and outfit is from a game called Dishonored," I point towards the blade she was sent to get. "And these are from a game called Assassin's Creed." I motion towards the white and red outfit, along with the dual Hidden Blades under it." It would appear your Turian friend wanted to buy something that is merely a prop."

"Not a prop," She says, pulling it off of the wall and examining it. "It's genuinely sharp, but not exactly historical." She says, shrugging." But, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Fair enough." I nod, smirking. " I think I'll take these." I motion towards the remaining items, stuffing the outfits in my now full bag and attaching the blades to my wrists for lack of a better place to carry them. I flex experimentally, and the blades shoot out, extending three inches past my fingertips and slicing my right ring finger open in the process. "Dammit!"

Kasumi just laughs at my misfortune, but freezes up when lights start to come back on in the gallery-esque room. I only have time to clean up my bloodstain before she's tugging me back towards the exit. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"I had rigged the power systems to stay off." She explains, starting to run. "But not for long."

I pale slightly. "So we've overstayed our welcome?" An alarm starts to ring.

"That answer your question?" She says.

The best way to see Bachjret Ward is while sprinting through it. Being chased by a half-naked Turian only made it more fun. We manage to outrun him, but continue to run. I'm following Kasumi, and we end up on the Presidium, though we must've run for at least a half hour. I'm sweating bullets, Kasumi the same, as we slow down by the lake. Our respective hoods are down and I'm starting to walk towards her when she suddenly spins around and presses her lips to mine.

Shock doesn't begin to describe my emotion right now, but the adrenaline of the moment causes me to wrap my arms around her, bringing her close. Nobody looks twice at the curious couple kissing by what is considered to be a romantic spot on the Presidium.

I wake up the next morning, remembering the crazy night. After our shared moment, or hour perhaps, we break away, flushed and embarrassed. After an exchange of Omni-tool information, she was off, though perhaps with a slight spring in her step. Could've been my imagination, though.

I deliver the painting to the drop-off, and receive probably a fraction of what the painting is actually worth, but still a hefty sum. I keep the gear as curios, though I'm determined to learn the Blades I've wanted to own since the beginning of the series. They're a mixed pair, one the infamous leather bracer of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, The other the right bracer of Ezio Auditore. Extremely well-made reproductions, they're made of stronger stuff than iron or steel. 'My nerdgasm must be a sight to behold.'

The outfits themselves are Corvo's outfit, complete with mask and hood, and the outfit that Ezio wore in the events of the second game. I'm looking over them in more detail when Delta comes in.

"A good night then?" He questions, looking at my smiling face. I nod, showing him my acquisitions. "Looks expensive. All together more expensive than what you were actually hired to get."

"Probably. But, I'm going to have a lot of fun with it." I say, the smile on my face telling all.  
End file.

_November 30th, 2177. Put operatives Echo and Delta in contact with a Krogan weaponsmith on Kiothi Ward. Though surprised at the state of his shop, they learned that Ravanor Granith is an extremely capable and amicable smith. Future weapon's contracts will go through him. Small finder's fee taken for business._

_January 19th, 2178. Echo states off-handedly that it is his birthday. Later that day, Kasumi Goto arrived with a package from 'a friend'. Package contained items dating to before Echo's capture. Echo thanked her awkwardly, distracted by something on his mind. Previous interaction between the two likely caused awkwardness. Note: still have not been able to investigate this Salarian or his mysterious 'employers' to my liking._

_February 15th, 2178. Echo releases a song onto the Galactic Music Network. The song, titled 'Stereo', hits over 15,000,000 hits in a little over a day. The music is something reminiscent of music on Earth pre-suppression, and many are amazed at the song's lyrics. Echo shows shock at the popularity, and receives many messages on his network account with questions, as well as offers for the production of more music. Note: investigate source of music._

_March 1st, 2178. Operatives Echo and Delta have assisted on several small operations, and are more than ready for more. Echo in particular shows a skill for low-profile missions, while Delta has a more high-profile skill. Will assign Echo to more assassination work, and Delta to enforcer/power play work._

_March 15th, 2178. Echo goes to Granith with a design for an armored outfit fusing together the hood of the outfit he referred to as Corvo's, and a less-flashy version of the outfit he referred to as Ezio's, with the ability to be less noticable. Granith delivers, providing an outfit made of ballistic cloth with hardpoints along the chest, legs, arms, and shoulder, as well as creating an optical illusion that makes people's eyes instinctively move away from the outfit, forcing someone to focus on something other than it. Will ask Granith for design specs._

_Echo also questions the make-up of the blades he found, and Granith reveals they are a titanium alloy, with tungsten-carbide cores, creating very durable blades._

_April 17th, 2178. Operatives Delta and Echo have been completing their jobs with relative ease, gaining a reputation among certain circles for their skill. Echo, in particular, gained notice of fellow assassins for killing a Hanar surrounded by Drell bodyguards on Kahje. The ensuing chase left all six guards with various cuts and stab wounds from his Hidden Blades when they had surrounded him and believed him unarmed. each guard was disabled but not killed._

_In the last month,Echo has also released three more songs from an archaic music player that somehow survived the suppression. With the surprisingly-massive profit he received from the releases, he buys a small-time music production business based on the Citadel and renames it New World Industries. Invested heavily in this N.W.I. on the prediction it will continue to produce massive revenue. Also masked all signs of any of this new music having already existed._

_July 22nd, 2178. Many aspiring musicians are contracted to sing and perform under the flag of N.W.I. Most accept, and quickly learn the songs written. N.W.I. is one of the fastest-growing producers in Citadel Space, with a rapidly-growing fanbase._

_October 20th, 2178. A group calling themselves "Followers of the Echo" has been causing a huge stir in Council space, dressing up as the now-infamous hooded assassin, and officials make several false-arrests on these individuals on Earth and the Citadel. Nobody is certain what the actual outfit is now of Echo. Most assume when they see him that it is merely another pretender._

_January 21st, 2179. Echo refuses a lucrative assassination contract, saying "This is one day no more blood will be on my hands."_

_April 14th, 2179. Alliance believes operative Echo responsible for death of several senators. They send an N7 assassination team after him and Delta, who evade the four N7s for 2 days on Omega, where they were completing a contract. The two are cornered in the mines, only to disable them and force them into an abandoned apartment, locking the door. Two days later, Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett receives a message saying the true assassin was found by Echo and Delta. All charges are dropped, and a working relationship forms between Echo and Hackett in secret._

_November 30th, 2179. In a chance encounter, operatives Echo and Delta are in Asari space when Councilor Tevo's ship is assaulted by Asari extremists. Echo and Delta board the ship, taking down the extremists, and earning the gratitude of the Asari Councilor, as well as a vacation on Thessia, all expenses paid._

"Man, are we lucky or what?" I look to Delta.

"Hell yes we are." I reply. "This is just what I needed."

"Well then," He says. "Let's have a night on the town." We move towards what qualifies as downtown Serrice.

"Ow, what did I do last night?" are the first words out of my mouth as I open my eyes. "Okay, Delta and I went out to some Asari club, we got drunk, danced," I shiver slightly at this. "And we... Where am I?"

"My apartment, silly." My jaw drops at the stunning Asari in the doorway, and her utter lack of clothing makes me realize my own.

"Uhh.." I say, ever the charmer. She just giggles a little, and climbs in the bed behind me.

"You can't tell me you don't remember last night?" She says in my ear, her arms around my shoulders.

"It's coming back to me.. Bit by bit." I answer, trying to relax a bit. "I was just a bit.. Surprised."

"Well, I'm just going to have to make you remember."

I've never been more scared, in the best way possible.

_January 30th, 2180. Echo goes to Granith with a project; armor classifiable as super-heavy, but powered to offer the mobility of medium armor. Calling it 'Spartan' armor, Echo fills out a full list of design specifications (See attached file). The armor will take anywhere from 4-10 months for development, the materials to design some of the more unique features will take time to gather and be prohibitively expensive for normal people, but N.W.I. is now making enough to design it. _

_There are now over 40 songs to the label, all of them popular with many different groups. From rock to hip-hop, they are re-igniting a passion for music as a means of relaxation and escape._

A/N: I'd add more, but I got shtuff to do. So, review! I'll see you all tomorrow.

Edit: here is the specs for my new armor (Halo Reach because.)

helmet Commando Cbrn Cnm silver visor.

shoulders: left Recon right Odst

chest: Tactical/Recon

Wrist: UA Bracer

Utility: tactical trauma kit-

knee guard: Grenadier

Disclaimer again: I do not own Halo.


	10. More At Stake Than Pixels

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. I also do not own any of the music rights or their artists, I only reference them in this non-profit story. Dont hate.**

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! We hit over two thousand views at some point on this little story, which is 1,500 more than I actually expected. Cheers! As a side note, my author name, adding xz to the end, can be found on a popular gaming website that relates to pipes. I only have Left 4 Dead 2 right now, which I do not own the rights to, merely play, but plan on others. Hit me up for a game.

* * *

_March 6th, 2180. Operative Echo is asked by an acquaintence what he'd want to see on a shotgun. Echo responds he'd like something with more range and armor-piercing capabilities. When asked on how to make this possible, he suggests the ammo be cut into wedges instead of pellets. The idea, while strange, proves to be effective. The Eviscerator is scheduled to be mass-produced later this year. Echo is credited with assisting the design, and is given partial profit for all units sold._

_October 20th, 2180. Echo is tasked with the assassination of the current commander of Eclipse forces In the Terminus._ Accessing files... Complete.

* * *

I lay in wait, silent, as the patrol passes by. There are more mercs here then there was supposed to be. It makes my job more interesting.

I move like a spirit, felt by most but seen by none. Three fall to my blade before I reach the watchman, eyes unfocused. Lazy.

I end his shift, taking up my own watch on the field. There, 400 meters and closing, the Salarian was calmly looking over a shipment of some kind, weapons by the look of the warning labels. Unfolding the rifle on my back, I take a moment to admire the monster in my arms.

The Barrett M-107 was a popular heavy-caliber rifle in my time. With the popularity of mass-effect weapons, standard weapons fell to the wayside to make way for these new death dealers. However, the Krogan have always respected weapons no matter how they kill. I went to Granith with the idea, and he delivered in amazing style. Using a Krogan-based munitions mixture, I now held a rifle that could fire ten times with the force of an M-98 Widow. Lightweight, high-density materials meant it that it is easy to carry, though it can't fold up completely, only slightly folding into itself to be less cumbersome. The downside to it is the recoil, which could take off most people's arm, but I handle with enough ease due to my implants. All in all, it is a scary weapon.

Which the Salarian commander realized as what sounds like a cannon goes off along the ridgeline, but the .50-caliber round that tears through his head ends all fear pretty quickly. The three rounds put into a refueling tank stationed next to several gunships cause a satisfyingly large enough distraction that anyone moving quickly enough wouldn't be noticed.

End File.

* * *

_January 19th, 2181. Operative Echo is unreachable for three days, which consist of his birthday and the days after it. Questioning Delta who took his place on mission revealed that someone he cared about died in that timeframe. He ignores all who try to speak to him, including Delta._

_March 20th, 2181. Lidria Iallis, an Asari that operative Echo 'spent time with' during his vacation, seeks him out on the citadel._

* * *

"Cory!"

I look in the crowd, and sure enough, Lidria is there. I smile slightly, uneasy with the sudden need to speak to me. I'm in my usual outfit; blue camo hoodie with some black cargo pants and sneakers. Strange to most on the Citadel, but they're comfortable.

She leads me to a small restaurant before sitting down, motioning for me to sit down.

"It's been a long time. How are you?" I start off.

"I've been well." She answers, seemingly nervous. "Look, there's something I need to tell you. I know that you lead a pretty dangerous life, and I'm not telling you this as some ploy to get back together with you, I just thought you should know." I look at the picture she's holding, a baby Asari.

"Cute kid. Yours?" She nods, but continues to speak.

"Yes... And yours."

Wat.

"Ajsdnyhfru?."

She seems scared now. "Well.. I hit my matron stage a few years ago, and when I looked into your mind, I couldn't get through. But I could feel that you were someone special, someone gifted."

"So.. So what.? You wanted my genetic makeup? Do you realize how insane that is?" My voice rises slightly, more out of shock than anger.

"It's not like that... Not really. I should've asked first, I know. Look, you don't have to worry about raising her. Most Asari raise their children alone anyways, and-" She's cut off by my hand raised to pause her.

"Look.." I begin, taking a deep breath." If this is my daughter, then I want to be apart of her life, in whatever way I can. I owe her that much to be a better parent than what I had."

"Really?" She asks, and I nod. " I didn't think.. You'd actually care."

"You must've met some shitty Humans then, in your time." I answer.

"Or just no great ones." She responds. "I wasn't going to tell you at first, but... I had twins, and one of them didn't make it. I figured.. You deserved to at least know. I know you're young, and frankly, I don't want my daughter to be raised by a merc.. But, I think in a few years you'll either be more mature, or dead. By then, she'll be old enough to recognize you."

I don't know what hurts me more, her wanting to completely to completely cut me from the equation, or my ability to nearly accept that right off. "Look, allow me to help you. I can get you anything you need-"

"I already have enough Cory. You're a great guy, and I respect you, but please accept my decision on this."

"... No."

"No."

"I want to be apart of her life, at least a little. Give me that." She looks at me a long moment before answering.

"Okay." I nod.

"So, what's her name?"

"Lettiandra." End file.

* * *

_August 25th, 2181. Operative Echo shows signs of a disease currently extinct on Earth, Tuberculosis. Medical scans confirm this is not the case, but he continues to cough up blood and experience pain. He has started taking an synthetic pain reliever that hasn't affected his abilities._

_November 10th, 2182. Operatives Echo and Delta attract the attention of other highly skilled mercenaries, forming a small alliance of five individuals, Echo and Delta included. Delta call the group 'Echo Rho Tau', mostly to annoy Echo, but it sticks._

_January 26th, 2182. Studies confirm Echo's condition linked to his implants, an embedded kill-switch. The more injuries he sustains, the faster his condition will take affect, ultimately leading to massive internal hemorrhaging. The implants are also linked to too many of his organs; to remove them now would kill him. I have not told him the extent of this danger. At his current rate, this will kill him in 10 years._

_February 20th, 2182. The Spartan armor, after long delays of getting it to Echo's exact specifications and Granith's not accepting anything but exactly what Echo wanted, is complete. A similar suit is being designed for Delta, though it will be easier to complete using the schematics of Echo's set._

_April 14th, 2182. At the insistence of Kasumi Goto, Echo releases a new style of music he previously wouldn't. He also does these songs in person, with a surprising amount of accuracy. He performs in the studio under the name of Marshal Mathers. The first song, "Mockingbird" goes to the top of N.W.I. charts. The actual song has been changed slightly, relating to Echo.  
_

_July 16th, 2182. Echo's new suit earns fame as he and Delta bring down a slaving ring alongside Kasumi Goto. He is described by some slaves as "a dark avenger in black armor." Kasumi took several of the youngest to safety while he and Delta clear the ship the slaves were being held on, with no friendly casualties._

_September 15th, 2182. Echo takes time out of his new training program to visit his daughter for her birthday. Her mother is still hesitant about Echo's involvement, but cares about him enough to respect his wishes._

_December 18th, 2182. Echo's condition has become more frequent, but he has stopped taking the pain reliever, calling it "addicting', and causing him to be emotionless at times. _

_E.R.T. gains notice as a very highly-skilled group of mercenaries._

_January 30th, 2183. As per Echo's request, he has been receiving reports of Pilgrimage movements from the Migrant Fleet. Upon reading the latest list, he asked for a audio call. Granted, he said that while he appreciated the work I sent his way, he couldn't currently take on any more work. He said that he was respectfully stepping down from being an operative. I let him go graciously, and Delta too. As per agreement, his 'friend' is now paying to keep his information largely secret._

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry if I've been rushing the story a bit, but it is as I stated previously. I will go back and add chapters to the backstory era if it is so requested. We are getting into the big leagues now guys and gals(?). Let me know what you think, one way or another.


	11. A Fateful Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, or anything to do with it. I'm not making profit off of this story.**

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**A/N:** how's it going guys, I'm here with another chapter of the story. Things get into the big leagues, and I'll try to make the story canon enough to be Mass Effect but adding my own flavor to it. And as for my character, he may be skilled, but do you think that a person who's been through as much as him is all there? Things will not be a simple walk in the park. I hope I do the combat justice. Also, a guest reviewed asking about a cliffhanger[?] all will be revealed... Probably. Edit: Added a mostly irrelevant point to the timeline at this time concerning my favorite artist. Labeled April 14th, 2182.

* * *

_Aroch Ward, Citadel._

_February 7th, 2183._

As I look into the mirror, a man who looks like he's seen hell stares back out at me. A blade scar cutting from right eyebrow to an inch below his eye, a wide scar over his lip on the left side, and eyes that look thousands of years old. A lean-looking 6'1", a surprising 200 pounds of muscle and skin, he looks a lot leaner than he is. The brief look of the additional scars and tattoos across his body before the shirt goes on suggests an active life for his 21 years.

"For all I've been through," I mutter to myself. "I'm nervous about this. I have a mixed rep, and if Shepard is a tightass paragon, I doubt I'll make the cut. Hope to god he's not some white knight." I amuse myself with this statement. "I'm long past hoping to Him for anything."

I don my customized gear, the white now faded and red lining replaced with a silver. the bracers, at least, I've kept in peak condition, and I had a third made from the design of the second, for emergency replacements. I am ready for this.

"Delta." I greet him as I walk out of the bathroom.

"Echo." he responds. We know each other's names, but rarely use them these days.

"So you're certain you won't accompany me?" I've asked him before if he'd want to help me on this, without revealing the fact that I know exactly what is going to happen.

"You know why man." He says."I'm not exactly a friend of the Alliance anymore. They either think I'm dead, or a deserter. It wouldn't work out, brother." I nod, accepting this.

"If all goes according to plan, I'll be traveling all over, stopping the end of the galaxy." I say dramatically.

"You really believe that, huh?"

"Yup."

"well, have fun. Don't forget to write!" He calls as I head out the door, and I shake my head.

As I walk towards the rapid transit, I consider my plan of action. I could hang around Dr. Michel's office, or even the C-Sec offices. My next thought makes me smile.

'Or, I could go get drunk.'

* * *

Chora's Den isn't a very refined establishment, but that fact made the bad guys open about their business. I watch the comings and goings of the people, brushing off the waitresses/dancers, the look of a pleasant buzz obscuring my alert eyes.

"Hey." I look up at the Turian staring down at me.

"Yeah?"

"I could use your help on something. You look like a capable guy, considering the pistol tucked in your jacket." My lips quirk at this. "Yeah, I saw. I do the same thing." he says. "Assassins know how to spot assassins better than anybody. You busy?"

"Depends on what you need." I say carefully.

"Well, me and a buddy are trying to track down these two suit rats," He gestures to the other Turian at the bar. "And this is too important to mess up. So, here." He sends a message to my Omni-tool. "If you're around the lower part of the Ward later, just message me. We might need back up, just in case."

"And if I help?"

"Then you'll get a cut of the action."

"How much?" He smiles.

"10,000 credits."

"Must be important." I say.

"It is."

"Then you wouldn't mind sparing 15." His smile drops.

"Fine, 15. But only if we need you."

"I'll be around." Fate, it seems, is a funny thing.

* * *

"You rang?" I answer.

_"Yeah! Stupid little.. The bitch is heading your way. She torched Jacobus! Look, stop her, and you'll get his cut. Just do it!"_

"I'll be waiting." I answer.

The marketplace down here was a mass of people buying, selling, haggling. A Yahg could charge through with barely any notice. So when a Quarian clutching her side tried to come through, nobody payed any real attention. I shake my head at this, and intercept her.

"let go of me!" She growls in her accented voice as I pull her into the alley, before slumping against the wall, obviously exhausted.

"Hey!" I answer, looking at her. "I'm saving your ass, so calm down." I look toward the crowd, spotting the Turian I spoke to earlier heading our way.

"Man, I'm glad you found her." He starts, relaxing. "I wasn't sure if you would-_**Huurk!"**_ The sound that comes from him is far less relaxed as my left blade plunges through his throat. I drag him farther into the alley, wiping blue blood from my blade as I walk back towards the Quarian.

"You can trust me, miss." I extend my hand to her. She takes it shakily, so wobbly on her feet I have to get her right arm around my shoulders, and assist her in moving. "Come on, I know someone who can help."

* * *

"Chloe."

"Cory! What happened?" I am greeted by Dr. Michel, one of many doctors I've seen over the past year.

"She was shot, Chloe. Some bad people are trying to track this girl down." I answer, gently setting the girl down on a bed.

"Well, you've come to the right place." She says, immediately seeing to her patient.

"I thought so," I say, smiling. "For your trouble." I set a credit chit down on the nearby table.

"I don't want your money, Cory." She chides me.

"Well, it's not for helping her." I answer. "I'll need some medical equipment. My emergency supplies aren't going to cut it for what I have in mind."

"Oh?" She says, already looking too scold me again.

"Yeah, I need a better capacity, and I'm going to need some Dextro Medi-gel as well."

"O..Kay," She answers. "And what about her?" She gestures to the now unconscious Quarian.

"Give her my Omni-tool info after she comes to," I answer. "My emergency one. I need to check on something."

"You're not going to wait here?" She asks. I shake my head.

"Something has been set in motion here, Chloe. I've got to get to the bottom of it."

"You be careful, Cory."

"No promises, doc."

* * *

I sit back down in my spot at Chora's Den, calmly waiting as time goes on. Many hours spent looking through a scope has given me a patience I lacked when I was younger. Eventually, I see a red-armored Krogan walk in and two red and black-armored Turians walk out. 'Showtime.' I think, heading for the door.

I step out quickly, ducking behind the railing as gunfire starts to erupt. I wait a beat before rushing the armored men in cover, driving a blade through the back of the skull of the first before turning the second's face into shreds with my pistol. The fire from the group across the way stops, and as I carefully stand up, hands unarmed, I get my first look at Commander Shepard and company.

Kaiden Alenko and Ashley Williams look how I expected, only real. The Commander is a light-skinned, dark-haired man who looks like he has seen his own share of hell, with scars along his lips and eyebrow in the average configuration, and deep blue eyes, carefully assessing the situation. His eyes zero in on mine as he calls out.

"Thanks for the assist. Now, who in the hell are you?" Not a stick in the mud, then.

"A merc, Mr. Alliance." I answer. "You looked like you needed some help."

"I'm sure me and my people could handle it," He says, a smirk on his face. "But thank you."

"No problem." I answer, walking away.

"Hey," He says suddenly. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Nowhere, sir. Except the shadows." I answer cryptically as I move towards the alley.

Making up my mind, I simply wait for the pseudo-meeting to go down. Time seems to crawl by as I hear what sounds like more than three people marching towards Chora's Den on a mission. 'Things are coming to a head.' I think. I'm waiting for her to show in the alley, but am interrupted by my Omni-tool chiming. Confused, I answer it.

_"Hello?"_ I hear the accented voice again._ "Is this Cory?"_

"Yeah," I answer. "What's wrong?"

_"I was supposed to be meeting the Shadow Broker in the markets," _She says, which is different from my memory. _"But these thugs have showed up. Dr. Michel said I could trust you, so I need your help."_ My answer comes quick.

"Stall them, if you can. I'm on my way."

It's a short jog to the market that she mentioned, and it looks abandoned save the meeting happening now. Seven people, with two Turians, four Salarians, and a Krogan all looking as suspicious as can be in the empty market. On the other side, a Quarian who looks like she is going to fall over.

"Where is the Shadow broker?" She asks the Turian in front of her. "Where is Fist?" I tune out the rest of the transaction as I consider my options. With the conversation between the two ending, I move.

I take off at a run, using the crates along the wall as a runup to boost myself into the air. The flashbang I throw at the krogan catches him in the face as I land on two of the salarians, my blades finding purchase in their skulls. The M-84 goes off after I shut my eyes, and the resulting sound has my head ringing despite my earplugs. The other two salarians are rolling around in pain from the combination of the flashbang and the tech mine that was thrown at the end of the conversation, and the Krogan looks like he just woke up with a massive hangover, dead to the world. I sprint to the Turian grappling with the girl, slamming my blade home in the side of his neck, only to be grabbed from behind and choked by the other Turian. I'm struggling with him for a brief moment before a pistol goes off next to my face. On the other side is a trembling set of arms, attached to someone who looks like they only just realized what happened. As the Turian slumps to the ground, I gently guide the pistol towards the ground.

"Hey, look at me." I tell her. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." she answers shakily, Only for her eyes to widen. "Look out!"

I turn around to see an armored fist flying for me. I duck, grabbing the attached arm and twisting them over my head. As they hit the ground. I extend my blade an inch from their throat.

"Enough!" I hear the shout, looking up but finding it's not entirely aimed at me. "Williams, I told you to stand down." I look at the pink-armored figure below me, and I step away. She gets up before answering.

"I had to act, Commander. You heard what Fist said!"

"And you heard me say that that was the guy from earlier." Replies Shepard. "He could've killed you."

"Sorry commander." She replies. "I just.. reacted."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," he says. He looks to me, and extends his hand, looking around at the dead or moaning thugs. "Looks like I owe you one, friend. Commander Matthias Shepard."

"Cory Weston." I say as I shake his hand. "And this is.. I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't catch your name?" I ask the Quarian girl standing there sheepishly.

"Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." As they discuss the reason for the fight, I look at the others. Ashley looks pissed off, with Kaiden and Garrus looking nervous standing next to her. Wrex looks jaded to the whole mess, casually slamming his foot into the head of the now-stirring Krogan.

"And what about you?" I hear addressed to me.

"Hmm?" I answer eloquently." What about me?"

"He saved me here, Commander." Tali interjects. "He can fight, obviously."

"Well, Cory?" Shepard asks me, and I seriously consider it one last time.

"I know that something is going down here Shepard," I respond. "And I'd like to see it through, now that I'm involved."

"Okay." He answers, then speaks to the group at large. "Let's go make Udina's day." The little troupe falls out, and I walk alongside Wrex at the back, coming to a silent understanding. I'm surprised when Tali starts walking alongside me too.

"Thank you," She says. "Most wouldn't have stuck their neck out for a Quarian once, let alone twice."

"You'll find that I'm not like most people." I answer with a smirk.

* * *

**A/N:** Alright, that'll do it for now. I'll have more up soon, but this one was running a bit long. As always, let me know what you think, and let me know if I've misspelled something or missed something in the plot on accident.


	12. Boarding Call

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Mass Effect, or anything related to it. I make no claim of such.**

**A/N:** How is everyone this fine night? I thank everyone who's taken time to read the story so far, and I appreciate the additions to the alerts/favorites list. I also really appreciate everyone who's reviewed so far, I like feedback and it makes me glad to write the story. Special shoutout to XRaiderV1 and Cf96 for the consistent reviews, I will respond to most if not all questions, and if something really bugs you just PM me and I'll try to help. Read and enjoy! Edit: cleaned up a couple things last chapter. I don't always check my work thoroughly enough, so please let me know if you spot any errors, and I'll correct them. Thank you. Also asked about possible/probable pairings again. I'm just trying to make everyone a bit more involved right now. My character may be friendly with someone, but I feel it's more about giving each character a bit of personality.

_Presidium, Citadel._

It's a fairly short trip by rapid transit to the Emabassies, with two cars for the large group. I consider my possible squadmates as we head in. The two soldiers seem to be mistrustful, or downright hostile from what I've seen of Ashley. I've never been a fan of the Human race, though. Garrus seems like he's trying to place me from somewhere, Tali seems grateful for, but confused about my assistance. Wrex.. Is Wrex, though I get the feeling I'll have to prove my skill before I get any acknowledgement from a man who's been around since before Humans had even started questioning the universe as we know it.

As for Shepard.. I'm usually good at reading people, but he's not easy to understand. He watches all, while revealing nothing. It's similar to my only revealing what I want people to know, but some can see through that. Shepard reveals nothing, in any direction. It makes me nervous.

We start to move towards the Ambassador's office, and I'm wondering if I can not punch Udina in the face right off for simply being a pompous ass. 'We shall see'.

Pompous ass mode, go!

"Shepard, you're making my life difficult." I sigh a bit, opting to stare out onto the presidium than looking at Donnel. He seems to glance over at me before shifting focus to Shepard again. "Firefights in the Wards? An all-out assault on Chora's Den? and the people you're with. Krogan? Quarian? And I've got reports of.." He looks over at me, as if just noticing my existence. "Who are you, anyways?"

"Ambassador, I'm hurt." I reply, smirking under my hood. 'Time to be dramatic.' "I'm not even on a watchlist? I haven't been doing my job properly." I cross my arms, unleashing the blades that are synonymous with my name. The look on his face is absolutely priceless, and I only wish I could take a picture without ruining the effect.

"You!"

"Me."

"S-shepard, do you know who this is!? This is Epsilon! He is an _assassin_! And you brought him here?!" Ashley is edging her hand to her hip for a gun, but Shepard stops her, a peculiar smile on his face.

"I thought he might be.." He murmurs. "But he's also one of your best friends right now Ambassador." He gestures to Tali." He saved her life, and with it, evidence of Saren's actions." As they launch into what I already know, I watch the good Ambassador turn from ass to politician mode. With a small flourish, he's running off to present the evidence, with Shepard asking if I want to accompany him.

"I'll pass,"I say. "The Council has very mixed feelings concerning me. I'm assuming you're going to be tracking down this rogue Spectre?"

"Not sure, to be honest. Why do you think I'll be the one?"

"Call it a gut feeling." I respond. "I need to do some things, but I can meet you somewhere."

"Okay, SSV Normandy, Alliance docks. That's where most of this lot is going to wait while Tali presents the evidence to the Council."

"I'll be there."

I head back to the apartment, Delta greeting me with a smirk.

"Didn't make the cut?" He asks.

"I did, actually. Came by to pick up a few things." I reply, gesturing towards our armory.

"Wait, seriously?" I nod. "Wow.."

"Indeed." I say, packing things into their crates and getting them ready to move.

"So, you're going to be saving the galaxy, huh?" He asks.

"Probably nothing as dramatic as that, but you never know."

"Some would say you lead a strange life." I smile at this.

"I don't think our lives have ever been what you'd call 'normal'."

"Fair enough." He looks out the window. "This could be your chance to do something great, Cory. Try not to get your head blown off without me there to watch your back."

"Oh, you know me Dom," I say. "The bullets are my friends."

"Hopefully, they don't get too friendly." He says as I wheel my gear out of the door.

"That's a fair amount of gear there, _Epsilon_," Garrus remarks as I push the cart out of the elevator. "You're bringing all that aboard?"

"Nope, just to sit on. And I typically go by Cory, or Echo." I reply cheerfully, parking the cart and gesturing to one of the crates, which he sits down on. I sit down on another. "Where's Shepard?"

"Still with the Council, I would think." We shoot the breeze for awhile, commenting on the Normandy and our respective lines of work, which doesn't seem to bother him too much, until Shepard comes off of the elevator with Anderson, Udina, and Tali in tow.

"All good, Commander?" Kaiden asks as they approach.

"Better than." He replies with a grin as he relays the news I fully expected. The others crowd around him while they listen, but Anderson approaches me.

"A word, if you could, Mr. Weston." I nod. "Hackett has told me some things about you, and he believes you are trustworthy. I'm hoping you're not going to prove him wrong." He says.

"Wasn't planning on it, sir." I reply respectfully.

"I've read up on some of the work you've done for him too. A lot was classified above my pay grade until Hackett forwarded me the files, but I know you're skilled. If you can help Shepard with this, I'll make sure you're well-compensated for your work."

I look at him, surprised. "That's not necessary, Captain." I respond, looking at the surprise on his face. "I'm not doing this for money."

"Then why are you doing it?" He asks, more out of curiosity than trying to be rude.

"There is something huge here, sir. I can feel it." I respond. "What we do in the coming days will most likely affect everyone in the Galaxy, Whether Shepard's vision was true or not."

"Then I'm glad you're coming aboard, son. You get results, and get them clean." He walks away to speak to Shepard as I join the rest of the group.

"You know the captain?" Kaiden asks me.

"In a sense." I respond.

"Hmm." Kaiden looks as though he wants to say something, but Shepard walks up.

"Okay everyone, listen up." And without fail, attention turns to him. "We are going to be chasing one of the Galaxy's most dangerous individuals. Anyone who wants to back away is free to do so." Nobody does, and Shepard smiles." Our only lead as of now is trying to track down the daughter of Matriarch Benezia. There will be a small stop along the way, but we will arrive in the Artemis Tau cluster in about four hours. For now, settle in on the ship where you're comfortable, and welcome to the Normandy."

A gorgeous ship, indeed. I've been on a fair few ships in the last few years, but the Normandy was a cut above. A state of the art warship, with high-quality equipment and personnel. A quick walkthrough of the first decks shows navy personnel hard at work doing their respective jobs, the pilot in particular a bit too busy to bother. As I walk down the stairs, I see Kaiden busy... Doing whatever it is he does in that corner. 'I need to figure that out'. I see Dr. Chakwas, but that's not a conversation I want to have right now. To the elevator!

Ugh. Three minute later, I step out into the cargo bay, scanning the room. Wrex is casually leaning against some crates, Ashley looks hard at work stripping an Avenger, Garrus is at his spot, but conversing with Shepard, and the Requisitions Officer is dozing in his little niche. Pretty standard, so I walk into engineering.

Seeing it with my own eyes, I found myself mesmerized with the Tantalus Drive Core. It is surprisingly relaxing, and I only snap out of my staring upon hearing a diminutive Quarian nearly interrogating an engineer of the specifications of the ship, I smile, but walk back out.

With little to do, I go over my equipment again. My armor is in top condition, muted green with dark underpoints and equipment. Gotta respect the classics. As for weapons, a Mantis-style sniper, with much better balance than in-game, two modified Carnifex-style pistols with the firepower and fire rate, an Eviscerator shotgun, with less power than it's cousin but still more dangerous than most shotguns on the market, and the extended sinks give me five shots. The last crate reveals my favorites and some modified grenades.

Besides my monster rifle, It also holds my FN P90 and Five-Seven. Like my M-107, they are heavily modified and made with this-era's polymers, combined with the new style of ammo to work on most planets organics can function on. They took a sizable chunk from my funds to develop right, but they're more than worth it. Their accompanying crates contain more than enough ammo for each weapon for at least a couple of months. As I pull some empty pistol magazines from the crate to load, Shepard approaches me.

"So, Cory. I see you're settling in." He gestures to the crates I've set in the corner, as well as a workbench.

"That I have, need something?" I ask, loading the 5.7 rounds into the mag.

"Just learning a bit about my new crew members." He responds.

"Well what would you like to know?"

"For starters, I'd like to know your combat proficiencies."

"Well, I'm a sniper by profession," I chuckle. "I've gotten good at that sort of thing. But I do well in hand-to-hand combat as well. I've got armor for dangerous situations, as well as this." I gesture to my current clothing. "And it's durable. I've learned to handle most weapons well, but I prefer my P90 in situations I would need an assault rifle."

"P90?" Shepard inquires.

"This," I say, raising it in my arms. "Is the FN P90. I can use it in much tighter conditions than an assault rifle, but it still has the power and range you can't find with a SMG. As such, I call it a Personal Defense Weapon, or PDW."

"And this," He looks towards to ammo crates. "They take actual ammunition? That's a bit archaic."

"If they used the traditional Human gunpowder mixtures. But, Krogan know how to put together weapons, of any kind. Trust me, they'll be as combat effective as any of your own weapons. Plus, I have the advantage of impact."

"Impact?" He questions.

"As you know, today's mass-accelerated weapons function on the principle of launching a grain of sand at extreme speeds," I start to explain, and Shepard nods. "The problem with that is you either punch straight through, doing little damage, or it fragments on impact, spreading the force onto the target but this can be mitigated by armor. With my rounds, they move slower, but the actuall mass is far larger by comparison. Most Armor is developed solely to deflect those bits of sand, but.."

"A larger round would punch right through, and deal massive amounts of damage to a target compared to others." Shepard finishes.

"The trauma of it can deal so much damage to an organic target that you don't have to fire many rounds," I say. " And it can disrupt enough functions of mechs and the Geth you fought to be useful in that category as well."

"Some good gear," Shepard concedes. "But expensive."

"Very. But worth it for someone like me, who only has to handle small-scale combat situations."

"Well, I won't be able to provide you with this equipment," Shepard says. "But that doesn't look like it'll be a problem. Can I ask you something else?"

"Shoot."

It goes on like this for a bit, first talking shop, then giving a bit of background information on my life. I tell him some fairly vague information, not revealing what happened to me when I came here or much before that. Shepard too, is an Earthborn, and relates his story of growing up in what used to be L.A.

"The roads we walk." I say.

"Quite," Shepard nods. "Alright, I need to gear up. I'm heading planetside with Alenko and Vakarian to check out an Alliance distress signal. Don't worry, the Mass Effect field will keep the cargo bay secured."

"Good luck, Shep."

**A/N: **I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Real life has a way of kicking you in the groin and telling you to run laps. More to follow soon, I promise. I'm not giving up on this story.


	13. Feet-First Into Hell

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or any artists, or their music, mentioned in this story, and make no real-life claim to such.**

* * *

**A/N:** Good morning/afternoon/evening to you all! Glad you dropped by. I've got another chapter for you today. A reviewer made an excellent point to me regarding my use of conventional weaponry versus the Mass-Accelerated gear, and this is what I had to say on the subject: I appreciate the realism, and I understand that it would kinda be a screw-up. However, If you were to use a different kind of make-up for the gunpowder, something that humans would not be able to craft normally, it would give the rounds far more power. As for kinetic force, it's a mass times speed sort of thing. So, something with a higher mass but going at a slower speed can theoretically deliver the same amount of force, give or take. The manufacturing process of such a round would be expensive, but would have advantages. At least, that's how I interpret it. The literal function of kinetic shields in game is debatable, and some may interpret this differently but there is nothing concrete that says this is the science behind it. So I'm taking some liberty with it, but I appreciate the opinion :). I think the reasoning behind this is sound enough, and the reason others would stick to the standard gear would be that it's cost-effective. Kudos to Michae1ange1o for an impressive new idea concerning weapons tech. But enough babbling on my part. On to the story.

* * *

_Systems Alliance Space Vehicle Normandy Stealth/Reconnaissance-1_

_February 7th, 2183. 7:30 P.M., Earth Central Standard Time._

* * *

"You." I look up to find a massive face a mere foot from my own.

"Wrex." I say by way of greeting.

"You're Epsilon then?" I nod. "I expected something more impressive."

"Most think that, before they see my skill." I say evenly.

"Hmph," He grunts. "I've heard some things about you, but I don't believe a word of it now. You'll have to impress me, whelp, before I trust you in battle." I smirk at the testosterone almost dripping off of him in his statement, challenging me. Well, the Krogan equivalent at least.

"I don't need to prove anything, Wrex. You'll see my skill soon enough." I reply, not breaking my cool even as he leans in closer.

"Am I interrupting something special?" Comes the voice of Shepard, hopping out of the Mako, which looks like it's just been through a war, or ten. Wrex snorts and walks away.

"Ah, it's nothing Shep." I reply. "Wrex was just confessing his love for me."

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to big guy." Shepard's next question is interrupted by Kaiden and Garrus clambering out as well, the latter looking extremely unsteady, and the former actually falling over.

"Ugh... Never again." Kaiden moans, still not getting up. I look quizzically at Shepard.

"The beacon was a ruse, but I'm not sure by who." Shepard starts. "It was placed in the territory of a Thresher Maw, to boot."

"Damn," I say. "I've only seen those things from far off. I make a point to stay far, far away from them."

"Me too, but we had to deactivate the beacon before more soldiers were led into a trap." He mutters, eyes downcast. "I had thought I'd seen the last of those things long ago.." I cringe a bit at this.

"Anything you want to share, Shepard?" I ask.

"It's not important right now. It's something I've left in past, and it can stay there, as far as I'm concerned." He looks troubled, though.

"I've learned first-hand that it doesn't always work that way." I say, unconsciously reaching around my neck. "I'm here if you need to get it off of your chest."

"Thanks, Cory." He says with a weak smile, then laughs. "You know, I'm usually the one who says that."

"Hey, the first Human Spectre is still Human." I remind him. He nods.

"That I am. Glad somebody noticed. I'm going to have a mission brief in about a half-hour for when we hit groundside. Process of elimination has revealed the place Ms. T'Soni is most likely at is Therum, and I just want to make sure everyone is combat-ready."

"I'll be there. I'll need a bit of time pre-mission to get my armor on though."

"Don't worry, I'm giving everyone plenty of time to ready up." He responds.

"Good. I'll be there."

* * *

"Alright everyone, here is what we know so far." Shepard stands before the assembled ground team, already armored and projecting an image of Therum from his Omni-Tool. The resulting light gives the meeting a surprisingly calm mood. T'Soni is Archeologist who specializes in Prothean ruins. She is on Therum right now at a dig site, and Geth forces are already planetside trying to get to her. For what purpose we're not sure. Our objective is to secure T'Soni and find out if she knows anything concerning Saren's movements, or her mother's. Any questions?"

"Here's one." Ashley starts. "Do we know if T'Soni is hostile or not? If she knows what her mother is up to, then she might be in on it."

"Not for certain." I interject, drawing attention to myself before I can stop it. "She might not have any idea what her mother is up to."

"And how would you know?" Ashley snips. "People keep in contact with their parents."

"Not all of them." I mutter, but Shepard intervenes before Ashley can reply.

"We don't know at this time, so we need to be careful. We're going in quiet and dropping in the Mako a couple klicks from the dig site." At this, Kaiden and Garrus flinch. "Hey, it's not that bad." Shepard mutters. Oh, boy. "Everyone, dismissed. Tali, one moment." he says as people start to file out, but I'm out the door before I catch anymore.

"Woah. Nice armor." Shepard remarks as I finish suiting up. With it, I stand at 6'6", a good couple inches taller than him.

"It's gotten me through a lot." I say, my voice coming out slightly synthesized through the speakers. I look around at the assembled ground team, finding a certain Quarian absent. "Where's Tali?" I question.

"I told her I wasn't trying to bring her on a mission with her just recently shot." He says. "I don't want her pushing herself. And no offense to her, but I want to make sure she is 100 percent combat capable. We're going to get into some serious situations, not just skirmishes."

"She's more durable than she looks, Shep." I mention. "That reminds me." I say, popping off my helmet and going over to my sizable stack of crates.

"Reminds you of what?" Shepard inquires.

"Something that may help."

* * *

(Tali POV)

'Stupid Bosh'tet Shepard. I'm , my side hurts a bit, and I'm a little woozy, and.. Oh, who am I kidding?' I look around the engineering bay. 'This is probably the only room I'll actually do anything in.' I'm shaken from my moping by the sight of an armored tank. I almost don't recognize him.

"Oh! Cory, er, Epsilon. I didn't really recognize you." He has short, dark hair, a feature I didn't notice with his hood on.

"Cory is fine, as long as I can call you Tali." He says with a small chuckle.

"Sure, that's fine." I reply.

"I heard you weren't coming on the mission." He says, seemingly concerned.

"That shot I took today." I explain. "Shepard is worried I'm not capable of fighting at 100 percent... And he's right." I sigh.

"Tali, I'm sure he's just concerned for your safety." He reasons.

"It's more than that, though." I argue. "He doesn't really think I'm going to be useful in combat, but I know what I'm doing."

"I'm sure that's not all of it, Tali." He starts. "If you're that eager to help out, I'll talk to him about it. For now, take this". He pulls out a small vial.

"What is this?" I say.

"Just some meds to help combat the unpleasant symptoms of suit breaches." He says cheerfully. "I know you were already treated by Dr. Michel, then followed up by the doc here, but this will keep the fever and sniffles away."

I look at him, shocked that he would get something like this, or even know to. "Thank you." Is all I am able to say.

"Think nothing of it" He says, moving towards the cargo bay. "I'm just glad I can help a crew member." I watch in silence as he leaves. That whole time I spoke to him, there was something... Off. Something in his eyes that contrasted greatly with his cheery disposition.

Like a horror story waiting to be unveiled.

* * *

"Cory." I turn to the voice of Shepard as I rummage through my crates.

"Hmm?" I reply, still searching.

"We're ready to drop in a couple of minutes." He explains. "We need everybody on board." I look to the group uneasily boarding the Mako.

"I'm not dropping in that." I say evenly, finding what I was looking for.

"So you're not going?" He asks.

"I didn't say that." I chuckle. "I've just found alternative transportation." I gesture to the pack slung over my shoulders and weapons.

"... What?" Fair question.

"It's made of high-strength fibers and designed with combat drops in mind."

"... It's a parachute." He replies.

"With a Mass- Effect generator that'll lower my weight to a safe number as I get towards the surface." I mention. "It's safe, or safe enough."

"You're seriously going to drop.. With a parachute?" He seems flabbergasted.

"I have a bet with Joker on whether or not I'll hurt myself, so he's agreed to drop me at a safe height." I chuckle.

"You know, if I were more serious, I'd never let you do this." Shepard says with a smile.

"Good thing you're laid back then."

"Alright, we're over the area. You ready team?" Shepard addresses the ground team.

"Yeah, but what about him?" I hear behind me as I stand at the edge of the now-open cargo bay.

"Weston?" Shepard asks, but is interrupted by Joker over the loudspeakers.

**"Echo, you are cleared to go."**

"Shepard." I call as Rev Theory starts blasting in my helmet. He turns to me fully.

"I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT!" Is the last thing I call before tilting out of the cargo bay.

* * *

"... Well then."

* * *

The air screams past me as the ground below gets steadily larger. Just as it seems like I'm going to become an armored pancake, the generator kicks in, slowing my descent rapidly before deploying my chute, and I end up dropping to the ground only half a klick away from the digsite.

"Echo to ground team, come in."

_"Echo, you alright? We're a ways out from the apparent digsite." _

"I've landed fairly close, and am going to scout out the location. Will update as you get closer."

_"Roger that. Joker says to check if you're injured." _

"Completely fine, tell him he lost his bet."

He chuckles_. "Wilco. Ground team out."_

* * *

As I keep up the jogging pace, I assess the situation. Several Geth units moving about the digsite, moving bodies or heading inside. No sign of units heavier than Primes, but the dropship in orbit could change that in a blink. Snipers setting up in towers.. They'll have no line of sight on me, but I record their positions, as well as what appear to be mounted guns, and relay the information to the ground team for when they arrive. 'This fight will kick off well.'

* * *

(Garrus POV)

I watch the display as we reach the impasse in the rock. While the trip here was certainly... Eventful, the skills of the ground team would come into play now. Skills I've been itching to use. Mantis ready, I step out of the Mako gratefully, Shepard still debating whether he can maneuver the Mako over the rocks, much to the two marine's dismay sitting beside him.

Eventually, he gives it up, and we proceed on foot. We near the outpost mentioned by Echo, only to dive for cover as a cannon seems to go off. I'm up and scanning for it immediately, but Shepard puts a hand on my arm.

"It's just Weston. I told him to open fire when we were here." I follow his eyes to one of the confirmed sniper towers, lining up a shot, only for said sniper's head to literally blow into pieces as a second cannon goes off.

_"I've got your back, ground team."_ Comes over the comms.

"Looks like we've got a guardian, then." Shepard chuckles. "lets move."

* * *

(Cory POV)

I watch over the rest of the team as they approach the digsite, my nerves afire as I wait for hell to drop from the sky.

_"Digsite looks clear. Come on down, Echo, so we can go inside." _... Dammit Shepard. as I make the perilous trip down to them, the team continues their advance. I'm only a few meters away from them when something inexplicable draws me to look up.

"Incoming!" leaves my lips as the Armature rapidly draws closer. I'm the first in cover behind a crate as the world seems to shatter with the force of the Armature completing it's drop. A far more menacing sight in person, I almost don't notice the smaller units converging on us.

"Take them down." Shepard barks out over the sounds of pulse rifle fire. My own weapon is in my hands before I can give them the order, the enhanced P90 rounds stripping shields and metal alike from the Geth forces. And of course, just as I start to feel my first real conflict with the Geth is going well, my cover is turned into a missle by the Armature.

"Oww.." I'm briefly considering changing my line of work before the crate resting comfortably atop me is encased in a bluish glow, then moving off of me. A smirking Wrex moves into my field of view.

"No time to nap. There are more things to kill." He grunts. I shake my head at him as I look at the situation. Apart from a Hopper missing it's legs, only the Armature is still standing.

"Just go beat it to death, Wrex." I mutter. "It'll work fine."

"I'm a Krogan, not a Vorcha. Even I know when something won't work." He replies.

"You sure?" I ask. "I'll even prove it to you." In a flash, I'm up and running.

(Armature Unit 1209473 POV)

* * *

Significant damage to Geth forces. Attacking forces showing only minor disruption, but unwilling to face this unit. Alert! Enemy unit moving along left flank. Pulse shot aligned to intercept. Alert! Enemy unit has launched unknown projectile into FOV. Resulting explosion has limited FOV by 64 percent. Cannot locate enemy unit within smoke. Alert! Impact on the back of this unit. Unable to turn towards source of impact. Alret! signicant damge detected to unt's processing sevrs. Ale-

* * *

(Cory POV)

"Whew, I didn't think that would work." I stand atop the now-defunct Armature, staring at the mess of wiring and.. Blood? Motor fluid? I created along the armature's back and spine. I look up at the rest of the group, who seem to be slightly shell-shocked. "What?"

"Nothing.." Ashley starts after a moment of hesitation. "Just didn't think that you would have such a dramatic way of killing it."

"It wasn't that dramatic.." I weakly counter.

"You fired your shotgun into it's spine repeatedly and then used Omni-Blades to rip the exposed wiring into shreds!" She nearly yells. "I don't know if it was genius or insanity!" She considers this a moment, then takes an about face at the look of impatience on Shepard's face. ".. What?"

"We can get to his court-martial later, Williams." He says, though the smile on his face suggests another idea entirely. Hopefully something involving Liquor and much partying. "For now, we have a mission." He turns to me as we start our march into the digsite interior. "Quick question: Dual Omni-Tools?" I smile at him as I start to explain my unconventional combat style.

* * *

_**A/N:**_I am very sorry for the lateness and poor quality of this chapter. I'm learning people :P I promise. For now, let me know what you think and hang in there. I'm not giving up on this story.


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